UNIVERSITY  OF 

AT   LOS  ANGELES 


.* 


THE 


WRITINGS 


OF 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON: 


BEING   HIS 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  CORRESPONDENCE,  REPORTS,  MESSAGES, 

ADDRESSES,  AND  OTHER  WRITINGS,  OFFICIAL 

AND  PRIVATE. 


IUBLISHED   BY   THE    ORDEE    OF  THE   JOINT   COMMITTEE   OF    CONGRESS    OX    THE    LIBRARY, 

FROM   THE    ORIGINAL    MANUSCRIPTS, 

DEPOSITED   IN   THE    DEPARTMENT   OF   STATE. 


WITH    EXPLANATORY    NOTES,   TABLES   OF   CONTENTS,    AND  A  COPIOUS    INDEX 
TO  EACH  VOLUME,  AS  WELL  AS  A  GENERAL  INDEX  TO  THE  WHOLE, 

BY   THE   EDITOR 

H.    A.    WASHINGTON. 


VOL]  I. 


NEW  YOEK : 

PUBLISHED  BY  JOHN  C.  EIKER,  815  BROADWAY. 

1857. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 

TAYLOR    &    MAURY, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Columbia. 


V.I 


PREFACE. 


MR.  JEFFERSON  having,  by  his  last  will  and  testament,  bequeathed  to 
his  grandson,  Thomas  Jefferson  Randolph,  all  his  manuscript  papers, 
Congress,  by  an  act  of  the  12th  of  April,  1848,  made  an  appropriation 
for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  them  for  the  Government ;  and,  by  the 
same  act,  an  additional  appropriation  was  made  to  print  and  publish 
them  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
the  Library.  It  is  under  the  authority  of  this  act  that  the  present  pub- 
lication is  made.  The  immense  mass  of  manuscript  left  by  Mr.  Jefferson 
having  been  deposited  with  the  Editor,  he  has  carefully  gone  through  the 
whole,  and  selected  from  it,  for  the  present  publication,  everything  which 
possesses  permanent  public  interest  either  on  account  of  its  intrinsic 
value,  or  as  matter  of  history,  or  as  illustrating  the  character  of  the  dis- 
tinguished Author,  or  as  embodying  his  views  upon  the  almost  infinite 
variety  of  topics,  philosophical,  moral,  religious,  scientific,  historical,  and 
political,  so  ably  discussed  by  him — thus  making  this  work  a  complete 
depository  of  the  writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  Under  the  view  which  the 
Editor  has  taken  of  his  editorial  duties,  and  the  instructions  of  the  Li- 
brary Committee,  he  has  not  felt  himself  at  liberty  to  encumber  the  pub- 
lication with  matter  of  his  own  farther  than  is  necessary  to  illustrate  the 
text.  Such  notes  as  have  been  appended  will,  therefore,  be  found  to  be 
purely  explanatory  and  historical  in  their  character.  Under  the  impress- 
ion that  the  value  of  such  publications  as  the  present  depends  much 
upon  facility  of  reference,  a  particular  Index  has  been  appended  to  each 
volume  as  well  as  a  general  Index  to  the  whole. 


CONTENTS   TO   VOL.   I. 


BOOK  I. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  1. 

APPENDIX  TO  AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  111. 

BOOK  II. 

PART  I — LETTERS  WRITTEN  BEFORE   HIS   MISSION  TO  EUROPE — (1773- 

1783),  181. 
PART  II — LETTERS  WRITTEN  WHILE  IN  EUROPE — (1784-1790),  338. 

Adams,  John,  letters  written  to,  205,  356,  358,  365,  370,  376,  378,  416, 

436,  437,  460,  486,  492,  497,  510,  501,  511,  529,  569,  584,  591. 
Aranda,  Count  de,  letter  written  to,  470. 
Auberteuil,  Billiard  d',  535. 

Bancroft,  Dr.,  letter  written  to,  535. 
Bannister,  J.  Jr.,  letter  written  to,  466. 
Bellini,  Mr.,  letter  written  to,  443. 
Buchanan  and  Hay,  letter  written  to,  578. 

Campbell,  Colonel,  letter  written  to,  295. 

Carmichael,  William,  letters  written  to,  392,  469,  473,  551,  579. 

Carr,  Peter,  letter  written  to,  395. 

Gary,  Colonel  A.,  letters  written  to,  197,  507. 

Castries,  Monsieur  de,  letters  written  to,  361,  374. 

Cathalan,  Monsieur,  letter  written  to,  600. 

Chastellux,  Chevalier  de,  letters  written  to,  321,  339. 

Commissioners  of  the  French  Treasury,  letter  written  to,  519. 

Crevecoeur  Monsieur  de,  letter  written  to,  594. 


VI 


CONTENTS  TO  VOL.  I. 


Delegates  in  Congress,  from  Georgia,  letter  written  to,  500. 

«  "          from  Virginia,  letters  written  to,  287,  307. 

Desbordes,  Monsieur,  letter  written  to,  462. 
Drayton,  William,  letter  written  to,  554. 
Dumas,  W.  F.,  letters  written  to,  528,  552. 
Dumas  and  Short,  letter  written  to  415. 

Forrest,  Colonel  Uriah,  letter  written  to,  338. 
Franklin,  Dr.  Benjamin,  letters  written  to,  204,  448,  525. 
Franklin,  W.  T.,  letter  written  to,  555. 
French  and  Nephew,  letter  written  to,  362. 

Gates,  Major  General,  letters  written  to,  238,  251,  254,  260,  262,  266,  268, 

275,  294,  314. 

Geisner,  Baron,  letter  written  to,  427. 
Gerry,  Eldridge,  letters  written  to,  454,  556. 
Governor  of  Georgia,  letter  written  to,  499. 

"  Maryland,  letter  written  to,  343. 

"  Virginia,  letters  written  to,  402,  513,  599. 

Greene,  Major  General,  letter  written  to,  509. 

Hartley,  David,  letter  written  to,  422. 
Henry,  Patrick,  letter  written  to,  212. 
Hogendorp,  letter  written  to,  463. 
Hopkinson,  F.,  letters  written  to,  440,  503. 
Humphreys,  Colonel,  letters  written  to,  496,  559. 

I/ard,  R.,  letter  written  to,  441. 

Jay,  John,  letters  written  to,  332,  339,  344,  380,  384,  403,  408,  452,  4o7. 

522,  537,  538,  543,  545,  571,  573,  574,  582,  602. 
Jones,  John  Paul,  letters  written  to,  391,  594. 
Jones,  Joseph,  letter  written  to,  353. 

La  Fayette,  letters  written  to,  311,  579,  596. 

La  Luzerne,  Chevalier  de,  letter  written  to,  326. 

Lambe,  Mr.,  letter  written  to,  581. 

La  Morleine,  Monsieur,  letter  written  to,  578. 

Langdon,  John,  letter  written  to,  428. 

La  Valec,  Monsieur  de,  letter  written  to,  429. 


CONTENTS  TO  VOL.  I.  yii 

La  Rouene,  Marquis  de,  letter  written  to,  512. 
Lee,  Richard  Henry,  letters  written  to,  204,  540. 
Livingston,  Robert  R.  letters  written  to,  320,  327,  330,  331. 
From,  329,  331. 

Madison,  James,  letters  written  to,  315,  324,  412,  431,  446,  531. 
Marbois,  Monsieur  de,  letter  written  to,  297. 
Mathews,  Colonel,  letter  written  to,  233. 
McPherson,  Charles,  letter  written  to,  195. 

Monroe,  James,  letters  written  to,  317,  345,  358,  405,  526,  564,  586,  605. 
—  From,  316.  . 

O'Bryan,  Richard,  letter  written  to,  477. 
Osgood,  Samuel,  letter  written  to,  45(i. 
Otto,  Mr.  letter  written  to,  558 

Page,  John,  letters  written  to,  181, 184, 186, 188, 189, 190, 191,  193,  210, 

399,  548. 

Pleasants,  T.,  letter  written  to,  563. 
Poncens,  Marquis  de,  letter  written  to,  430. 
Portail,  Monsieur  du,  letter  written  to  357, 
President  of  Congress,  letters  written  to,  285,  287,  299,  300,  301,  302,  303, 

304. 
Price,  Dr.,  letter  written  to,  376. 

Randolph,  Edmund,  letters  written  to,  312,  433. 
Randolph,  John,  letters  written  to,  200,  202. 
Riedesel,  General  de,  letter  written  to,  240. 
Rittenhouse,  David,  letters  written  to,  210,  515. 
Ross,  James,  letter  written  to,  560. 

St.  Victour  and  Bettinger,  letter  written  to,  570. 

Seward,  W.  \V.,  letter  written  to,  478. 

Short,  William,  letter  written  to,  372. 

Small,  Dr.  William,  letter  written  to,  198. 

Steptoe,  Mr.,  letter  written  to,  323. 

Stevens,  General  Edward,  letters  written  to,  244,  250,  252,  253,  274,  278. 

Stewart,  A.,  letter  written  to,  517. 

Style,  Dr.,  letter  written  to,  363. 


viii  CONTENTS  TO  VOL.   I. 

Thompson,  Charles,  letters  written  to,  354,  542. 
Thulemeyer,  Baron  de,  letters  written  to,  368,  469. 
Trist,  Mrs.,  letter  written  to,  394. 

Unger,  John  Louis  de,  letter  written  to,  2*78. 

Van  Staphorst,  N.  &  J.,  letters  written  to,  369,  46 1,  471. 

Vergennes,  Count  de,  letters  written  to,  385,  456,  479,  490,  537,  547,  577. 

Washington,  George,  letters  written  to,  221,  225,  230,  231,  232,  235,  237, 
239,  241,  243,  249,  255,  257,  265,  267,  268,  270,  271,  276,  279,  282; 
291,  292,  296,  297,  304,  305,  309,  313,  325,  333. 
—  From,  328. 

Wythe,  George,  letter  written  to,  21) 

*  (address  lost),  207,  246,  272,  289. 


BOOK    I. 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  WITH  APPENDIX, 


INTRODUCTORY    TO    BOOK    I. 

IN  the  arrangement  •which  has  been  adopted,  Book  I.  comprises  the  Autobiography 
and  Appendix.  The  Autobiography  extends  to  the  21st  of  March,  1790,  when  Mr. 
Jefferson  arrived  in  New  York  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  the  Department  of  Stiite, 
and  embraces  a  variety  of  important  subjects,  such  as  the  rise  and  progress  of  the 
difficulties  between  Great  Britain  a»d  her  North  American  Colonies — the  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  Declaration  of  Independence — the  debates  in  Congress 
upon  the  adoption  thereof,  as  reduced  to  -writing  by  Mr.  Jefferson  at  the  time — the 
history  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation — early  stages  of  the  French  Revolution — re- 
vision of  the  Penal  Code  of  Virginia — abolition  of  her  laws  of  Primogeniture— over- 
throw of  her  Church  Establishment — Act  of  Religious  Freedom,  &c. — all  matter 
interesting  in  itself,  but  rendered  particularly  so  by  the  fact  that  it  comes  from  one 
who  was  himself  a  chief  actor  in  the  scenes  which  he  describes. 


BOOK    I. 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  WITH   APPENDIX. 


JANUARY  6,  1821.  At  the  age  of  77,  I  begin  to  make  some 
memoranda,  and  state  some  recollections  of  dates  and  facts  con- 
cerning myself,  for  my  own  more  ready  reference,  and  for  the 
information  of  my  family. 

The  tradition  in  my  father's  family  was,  that  their  ancestor 
came  to  this  country  from  Wales,  and  from  near  the  mountain 
of  Snowdon,  the  highest  in  Great  Britain.  I  noted  once  a  case 
from  Wales,  in  the  law  reports,  where  a  person  of  our  name  was 
either  plaintiff  or  defendant ;  and  one  of  the  same  name  was 
secretary  to  the  Virginia  Company.  These  are  the  only  in- 
stances in  which  I  have  met  with  the  name  in  that  country.  I 
have  found  it  in  our  early  records  ;  but  the  first  particular  infor- 
mation I  have  of  any  ancestor  was  of  my  grandfather,  who  lived 
at  the  place  in  Chesterfield  called  Ozborne's,  and  owned  the 
lands  afterwards  the  glebe  of  the  parish.  He  had  three  sons ; 
Thomas  who  died  young,  Field  who  settled  on  the  waters  of 
Roanoke  and  left  numerous  descendants,  and  Peter,  my  father, 
who  settled  on  the  lands  I  still  own,  called  Shadwell,  adjoining 
my  present  residence.  He  was  born  February  29,  1707-8,  and 
intermarried  1739,  with  Jane  Randolph,  of  the  age  of  19,  daugh- 
ter of  Isham  Randolph,  one  of  the  seven  sons  of  that  name  and 
family,  settled  at  Dungeoness  in  Goochland.  They  trace  their 
pedigree  far  back  in  England  and  Scotland,  to  which  let  every 

one  ascribe  the  faith  and  merit  he  chooses. 
VOL.  i.  1 


2  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

My  father's  education  had  been  quite  neglected  ;  but  being  of 
a  strong  mind,  sound  judgment,  and  eager  after  information,  he 
read  much  and  improved  himself,  insomuch  that  he  was  chosen, 
with  Joshua  Fry,  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  William  and  Mary 
college,  to  continue  the  boundary  line  between  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina,  which  had  been  begun  by  Colonel  Byrd  ;  and  was  af- 
terwards employed  with  the  same  Mr.  Fry,  to  make  the  first  map 
of  Virginia  which  had  ever  been  made,  that  of  Captain  Smith 
being  merely  a  conjectural  sketch.  They  possessed  excellent 
materials  for  so  much  of  the  country  as  is  below  the  blue  ridge  ; 
little  being  then  known  beyond  that  ridge.  He  was  the  third 
or  fourth  settler,  about  the  year  1737,  of  the  part  of  the  country 
in  which  I  live.  He  died,  August  17th,  1757,  leaving  my  mother 
a  widow,  who  lived  till  1776,  with  six  daughters  and  two  sons, 
myself  the  elder.  To  my  younger  brother  he  left  his  estate  on 
James  River,  called  Snowden,  after  the  supposed  birth-place  of 
the  family :  to  myself,  the  lands  on  which  I  was  born  and  live. 

He  placed  me  at  the  English  school  at  five  years  of  age  ;  and 
at  the  Latin  at  nine,  where  I  continued  until  his  death.  My 
teacher,  Mr.  Douglas,  a  clergyman  from  Scotland,  with  the  ru- 
diments of  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  taught  me  the  French  ; 
and  on  the  death  of  my  father,  I  went  to  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Maury,  a  correct  classical  scholar,  with  whom  I  continued  two 
years  ;  and  then,  to  wit,  in  the  spring  of  1760,  went  to  William 
and  Mary  college,  where  I  continued  two  years.  It  was  my 
great  good  fortune,  and  what  probably  fixed  the  destinies  of  my 
life,  that  Dr.  William  Small  of  Scotland,  was  then  professor  of 
Mathematics,  a  man  profound  in  most  of  the  useful  branches  of 
science,  with  a  happy  talent  of  communication,  correct  and  gen- 
tlemanly manners,  and  an  enlarged  and  liberal  mind.  He,  most 
happily  for  me,  became  soon  attached  to  me,  and  made  me  his 
daily  companion  when  not  engaged  in  the  school ;  and  from  his 
conversation  I  got  my  first  views  of  the  expansion  of  science, 
and  of  the  system  of  things  in  which  we  are  placed.  Fortu- 
nately, the  philosophical  chair  became  vacant  soon  after  my  ar- 
rival at  college,  and  he  was  appointed  to  fill  it  per  interim :  and 


AUTOBIOGEAPHY.  3 

he  was  the  first  who  ever  gave,  in  that  college,  regular  lectures 
in  Ethics,  Rhetoric  and  Belles  lettres.  He  returned  to  Europe  in 
1762,  having  previously  filled  up  the  measure  of  his  goodness  to 
me,  by  procuring  for  me,  from  his  most  intimate  friend,  George 
Wythe,  a  reception  as  a  student  of  law,  under  his  direction,  and 
introduced  me  to  the  acquaintance  and  familiar  table  of  Governor 
Fauquier,  the  ablest  man  who  had  ever  filled  that  office.  With 
him,  and  at  his  table,  Dr.  Small  and  Mr.  Wythe;  his  amid  om- 
nium horarum,  and  myself,  formed  n'Jmrtie  quarree,  and  to  the 
habitual  conversations  on  these  occasions  I  owed  much  instruc- 
tion. Mr.  Wythe  continued  to  be  my  faithful  and  beloved  men- 
tor in  youth,  and  my  most  affectionate  friend  through  life.  In 
1767,  he  led  me  into  the  practice  of  the  law  at  the  bar  of  the 
General  court,  at  which  I  continued  until  the  Revolution  shut  up 
the  courts  of  justice.* 

In  1769,  I  became  a  member  of  the  legislature  by  the  choice 
of  the  county  in  which  I  live,  and  so  continued  until  it  was 
closed  by  the  Revolution.  I  made  one  eifort  in  that  body  for 
the  permission  of  the  emancipation  of  slaves,  which  was  rejected  : 
and  indeed,  during  the  regal  government,  nothing  liberal  could 
expect  success.  Our  minds  were  circumscribed  within  narrow 
limits,  by  an  habitual  belief  that  it  was  our  duty  to  be  subordi- 
nate to  the  mother  country  in  all  matters  of  government,  to  di- 
rect all  our  labors  in  subservience  to  her  interests,  and  even  to 
observe  a  bigoted  intolerance  for  all  religions  but  hers.  The  dif- 
ficulties with  our  representatives  were  of  habit  and  despair,  not 
of  reflection  and  conviction.  Experience  soon  proved  that  they 
could  bring  their  minds  to  rights,  on  the  first  summons  of  their 
attention.  But  the  King's  Council,  which  acted  as  another  house 
of  legislature,  held  their  places  at  will,  and  were  in  most  humble 
obedience  to  that  will :  the  Governor  too,  who  had  a  negative  on 
our  laws,  held  by  the  same  tenure,  and  with  still  greater  de- 
votedness  to  it :  and,  last  of  all,  the  Royal  negative  closed  the 
last  door  to  every  hope  of  amelioration.  -^, 

**>• 

*  [See  Appendix,  note  A.] 

-~.t    <* 


4  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1772, 1  was  married  to  Martha  Skelton 
widow  of  Bathurst  Skelton,  and  daughter  of  John  Wayles,  then 
twenty-three  years  old.  Mr.  Wayles  was  a  lawyer  of  much  prac- 
tice, to  which  he  was  introduced  more  by  his  great  industry, 
punctuality,  and  practical  readiness,  than  by  eminence  in  the 
science  of  his  profession.  He  was  a  most  agreeable  companion, 
full  of  pleasantry  and  good  humor,  and  welcomed  in  every  so- 
ciety. He  acquired  a  handsome  fortune,  and  died  in  May,  1773, 
leaving  three  daughters :  the  portion  which  came  on  that  event 
to  Mrs.  Jefferson,  after  the  debts  should  be  paid,  which  were  very 
considerable,  was  about  equal  to  my  own  patrimony,  and  conse- 
quently doubled  the  ease  of  our  circumstances. 

When  the  famous  Resolutions  of  1765,  against  the  Stamp-act, 
were  proposed,  I  was  yet  a  student  of  law  in  Williamsburgh.  I 
attended  the  debate,  however,  at  the  door  of  the  lobby  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  and  heard  the  splendid  display  of  Mr.  Hen- 
ry's talents  as  a  popular  orator.  They  were  great  indeed  ;  such 
as  I  have  never  heard  from  any  other  man.  He  appeared  to  me 
to  speak  as  Homer  wrote.  Mr.  Johnson,  a  lawyer,  and  member 
from  the  Northern  Neck,  seconded  the  resolutions,  and  by  him 
the  learning  and  the  logic  of  the  case  were  chiefly  maintained. 
My  recollections  of  these  transactions  may  be  seen  page  60  of 
the  life  of  Patrick  Henry,  by  Wirt,  to  whom  I  furnished  them. 

In  May,  1769,  a  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  was  called 
by  the  Governor,  Lord  Botetourt.  I  had  then  become  a  member ; 
and  to  that  meeting  became  known  the  joint  resolutions  and  ad- 
dress of  the  Lords  and  Commons,  of  1768-9,  on  the  proceedings 
in  Massachusetts.  Counter-resolutions,  and  an  address  to  the 
King  by  the  House  of  Burgesses,  were  agreed  to  with  little  op- 
position, and  a  spirit  manifestly  displayed  itself  of  considering  the 
the  cause  of  Massachusetts  as  a  common  one.  The  Governor 
dissolved  us :  but  we  met  the  next  day  in  the  Apollo*  of  the 
Raleigh  tavern,  formed  ourselves  into  a  voluntary  convention, 
drew  up  articles  of  association  against  the  use  of  any  merchan- 
dise imported  from  Great  Britain,  signed  and  recommended  them 

[*  The  name  of  a  public  room  in  the  Raleigh,] 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  5 

to  the  people,  repaired  to  our  several  counties,  and  were  re-elected 
without  any  other  exception  than  of  the  very  few  who  had  de- 
clined assent  to  our  proceedings. 

Nothing  of  particular  excitement  occurring  for  a  considerable 
time,  our  countrymen  seemed  to  fall  into  a  state  of  insensibility 
to  our  situation  ;  the  duty  on  tea,  not  yet  repealed,  and  the  decla- 
ratory act  of  a  right  in  the  British  Parliament  to  bind  us  by  their 
laws  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  still  suspended  over  us.  But  a  court 
of  inquiry  held  in  Rhode  Island  in  1762,  with  a  power  to  send 
persons  to  England  to  be  tried  for  offences  committed  here,  was 
considered,  at  our  session  of  the  spring  of  1773,  as  demanding 
attention.  Not  thinking  our  old  and  leading  members  up  to  the 
point  of  forwardness  and  zeal  which  the  times  required,  Mr. 
Henry,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Francis  L.  Lee,  Mr.  Carr  and  my- 
self agreed  to  meet  in  the  evening,  in  a  private  room  of  the 
Raleigh,  to  consult  on  the  state  of  things.  There  may  have  been 
a  member  or  two  more  \Vhom  I  do  not  recollect.  We  were  all 
sensible  that  the  most  urgent  of  all  measures  was  that  of  coming 
to  an  understanding  with  all  the  other  colonies,  to  consider 
the  British  claims  as  a  common  cause  to  all,  and  to  produce  a 
unity  of  action  :  and,  for  this  purpose,  that  a  committee  of  corre- 
spondence in  each  colony  would  be  the  best  instrument  for  inter- 
communication :  and  that  their  first  measure  would  probably  be, 
to  propose  a  meeting  of  deputies  from  every  colony,  at  some  cen- 
tral place,  who  should  be  charged  with  the  direction  of  the  meas- 
ures which  should  be  taken  by  all.  We,  therefore,  drew  up  the 
resolutions  which  may  be  seen  in  Wirt,  page  87.  The  consult- 
ing members  proposed  to  me  to  move  them,  but  I  urged  that  it 
should  be  done  by  Mr.  Carr,  my  friend  and  brother-in-law,  then 
a  new  member,  to  whom  I  wished  an  opportunity  should  be  given 
of  making  known  to  the  house  his  great  worth  and  talents.  It 
was  so  agreed  ;  he  moved  them,  they  were  agreed  to  nem.  con., 
and  a  committee  of  correspondence  appointed,  of  whom  Peyton 
Randolph,  the  speaker,  was  chairman.  The  Governor  (then  Lord 
Dunmore)  dissolved  us,  but  the  committee  met  the  next  day,  pre- 
pared a  circular  letter  to  the  speakers  of  the  other  colonies,  in- 


6  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

closing  to  each  a  copy  of  the  resolutions,  and  left  it  in  charge 
with  their  chairman  to  forward  them  by  expresses. 

The  origination  of  these  committees  of  correspondence  be- 
tween the  colonies  has  been  since  claimed  for  Massachusetts,  and 
Marshall*  has  given  into  this  error,  although  the  very  note  of  his 
appendix  to  which  he  refers,  shows  that  their  establishment 
was  confined  to  their  own  towns.  This  matter  will  be  seen 
clearly  stated  in  a  letter  of  Samuel  Adams  Wells  to  me  of  April 
2nd,  1819,  and  my  answer  of  May  12th.  I  was  corrected  by  the 
letter  of  Mr.  Wells  in  the  information  I  had  given  Mr.  Wirt,  as 
stated  in  his  note,  page  87,  that  the  messengers  of  Massachusetts 
and  Virginia  crossed  each  other  on  the  way,  bearing  similar  propo- 
sitions ;  for  Mr.  Wells  shows  that  Massachusetts  did  not  adopt  the 
measure,  but  on  the  receipt  of  our  proposition,  delivered  at  their 
next  session.  Their  message,  therefore,  which  passed  ours,  must 
have  related  to  something  else,  for  I  well  remember  Peyton  Ran- 
dolph's informing  me  of  the  crossing  of  our  messengers.f 

The  next  event  which  excited  our  sympathies  for  Massachu- 
setts, was  the  Boston  port  bill,  by  which  that  port  was  to  be  shut 
up  on  the  1st  of  June,  1774.  This  arrived  while  we  were  in 
session  in  the  spring  of  that  year.  The  lead  in  the  House,  on 
these  subjects,  being  no  longer  left  to  the  old  members,  Mr. 
Henry,  R.  H.  Lee,  Fr.  L.  Lee,  three  or  four  other  members, 
whom  I  do  not  recollect,  and  myself,  agreeing  that  we  must 
boldly  take  an  unequivocal  stand  in  the  line  with  Massachusetts, 
determined  to  meet  and  consult  on  the  proper  measures,  in  the 
council-chamber,  for  the  benefit  of  the  library  in  that  room.  We 
were  under  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  arousing  our  people 
from  the  lethargy  into  which  they  had  fallen,  as  to  passing  events  ; 
and  thought  that  the  appointment  of  a  day  of  general  fasting  and 
prayer  would  be  most  likely  to  call  up  and  alarm  their  attention. 
No  example  of  such  a  solemnity  had  existed  since  the  days  of 
our  distresses  in  the  war  of  '55,  since  which  a  new  generation 
had  grown  up.  With  the  help,  therefore,  of  Rushworth,  whom 
we  rummaged  over  for  the  revolutionary  precedents  and  forms  of 

•  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.,  p.  151.  [f  See  Appendix,  note  B.] 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  7 

the  Puritans  of  that  day,  preserved  by  him,  we  cooked  up  a  reso- 
lution, somewhat  modernizing  their  phrases,  for  appointing  the 
1st  day  of  June,  on  which  the  port-bill  was  to  commence,  for  a 
day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer,  to  implore  Heaven  to 
avert  from  us  the  evils  of  civil  war,  to  inspire  us  with  firmness  in 
support  of  our  rights,  and  to  turn  the  hearts  of  the  King  and 
Parliament  to  moderation  and  justice.  To  give  greater  emphasis 
to  our  proposition,  we  agreed  to  wait  the  next  morning  on  Mr. 
Nicholas,  whose  grave  and  religious  character  was  more  in  unison 
with  the  tone  of  our  resolution,  and  to  solicit  him  to  move  it. 
We  accordingly  went  to  him  in  the  morning.  He  moved  it  the 
same  day  ;  the  1st  of  June  was  proposed  ;  and  it  passed  without 
opposition.  The  Governor  dissolved  us,  as  usual.  We  retired 
to  the  Apollo,  as  before,  agreed  to  an  association,  and  instructed 
the  committee  of  correspondence  to  propose  to  the  corresponding 
committees  of  the  other  colonies,  to  appoint  deputies  to  meet  in 
Congress  at  such  place,  annually,  as  should  be  convenient,  to  di- 
rect, from  time  to  time,  the  measures  required  by  the  general  in- 
terest :  and  we  declared  that  an  attack  on  any  one  colony,  should 
be  considered  as  an  attack  on  the  whole.  This  was  in  May.  We 
further  recommended  to  the  several  counties  to  elect  deputies  to 
meet  at  Williamsburgh,  the  1st  of  August  ensuing,  to  consider 
the  state  of  the  colony,  and  particularly  to  appoint  delegates  to  a 
general  Congress,  should  that  measure  be  acceded  to  by  the  com- 
mittees of  correspondence  generally.  It  was  acceded  to  ;  Phila- 
delphia was  appointed  for  the  place,  and  the  5th  of  September 
for  the  time  of  meeting.  We  returned  home,  and  in  our  several 
counties  invited  the  clergy  to  meet  assemblies  of  the  people  on 
the  1st  of  June,  to  perform  the  ceremonies  of  the  day,  and  to  ad- 
dress to  them  discourses  suited  to  the  occasion.  The  people  met 
generally,  with  anxiety  and  alarm  in  their  countenances,  and  the 
effect  of  the  day,  through  the  whole  colony,  was  like  a  shock  of 
electricity,  arousing  every  man,  and  placing  him  erect  and  solidly 
on  his  centre.  They  chose,  universally,  delegates  for  the  con- 
vention. Being  elected  one  for  my  own  county,  I  prepared  a 
draught  of  instructions  to  be  given  to  the  delegates  whom  we 


8  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

should  send  to  the  Congress,  which  I  meant  to  propose  at  our 
meeting.*  In  this  I  took  the  ground  that,  from  the  beginning,  I 
had  thought  the  only  one  orthodox  or  tenable,  which  was,  that 
the  relation  between  Great  Britain  and  these  colonies  was  ex- 
actly the  same  as  that  of  England  and  Scotland,  after  the  acces- 
sion of  James,  and  until  the  union,  and  the  same  as  her  present 
relations  with  Hanover,  having  the  same  executive  chief,  but  no 
other  necessary  political  connection  ;  and  that  our  emigration 
from  England  to  this  country  gave  her  no  more  rights  over  us, 
than  the  emigrations  of  the  Danes  and  Saxons  gave  to  the  present 
authorities  of  the  mother  country,  over  England.  .  In  this  doc- 
trine, however,  I  had  never  been  able  to  get  any  one  to  agree 
with  me  but  Mr.  Wythe.  He  concurred  in  it  from  the  first  dawn 
of  the  question,  What  was  the  political  relation  between  us  and 
England  ?  Our  other  patriots,  Randolph,  the  Lees,  Nicholas,  Pen- 
dleton,  stopped  at  the  half-way  house  of  John  Dickinson,  who 
admitted  that  England  had  a  right  to  regulate  our  commerce,  and 
to  lay  duties  on  it  for  the  purposes  of  regulation,  but  not  of  rais- 
ing revenue.  But  for  this  ground  there  was  no  foundation  in 
compact,  in  any  acknowledged  principles  of  colonization,  nor  in 
reason  :  expatriation  being  a  natural  right,  and  acted  on  as  such, 
by  all  nations,  in  all  ages.  I  set  out  for  Williamsburg  some  days 
before  that  appointed  for  our  meeting,  but  was  taken  ill  of  a  dys- 
entery on  the  road,  and  was  unable  to  proceed.  I  sent  on,  there- 
fore, to  Williamsburgh,  two  copies  of  my  draught,  the  one  under 
cover  to  Peyton  Randolph,  who  I  knew  would  be  in  the  chair  of 
tho  convention,  the  other  to  Patrick  Henry.  Whether  Mr.  Henry 
disapproved  the  ground  taken,  or  was  too  lazy  to  read  it  (for  he 
was  the  laziest  man  in  reading  1  ever  knew)  I  never  learned : 
but  he  communicated  it  to  nobody.  Peyton  Randolph  informed 
the  convention  he  had  received  such  a  paper  from  a  member,  pre- 
vented by  sickness  from  offering  it  in  his  place,  and  he  laid  it  on 
the  table  for  perusal.  It  was  read  generally  by  the  members,  ap- 
proved by  many,  though  thought  too  bold  for  the  present  state  of 
things ;  but  they  printed  it  in  pamphlet  form,  under  the  title  of 

[*  See  Appendix,  note  C.J 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  9 

"  A  Summary  View  of  the  Rights  of  British  America."  It  found 
its  way  to  England,  was  taken  up  by  the  opposition,  interpolated 
a  little  by  Mr.  Burke  so  as  to  make  it  answer  opposition  pur- 
poses, and  in  that  form  ran  rapidly  through  several  editions.  This 
information  I  had  from  Parson  Hurt,  who  happened  at  the  time 
to  be  in  London,  whither  he  had  gone  to  receive  clerical  orders ; 
and  I  was  informed  afterwards  by  Peyton  Randolph,  that  it  had 
procured  me  the  honor  of  having  my  name  inserted  in  a  long  list 
of  proscriptions,  enrolled  in  a  bill  of  attainder  commenced  in  one 
of  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  but  suppressed  in  embryo  by  the 
hasty  step  of  events,  which  warned  them  to  be  a  little  cautious. 
Montague,  agent  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  in  England,  made 
extracts  from  the  bill,  copied  the  names,  and  sent  them  to  Peyton 
Randolph.  The  names,  I  think,  were  about  twenty,  which  he 
repeated  to  me,  but  I  recollect  those  only  of  Hancock,  the  two 
Adamses,  Peyton  Randolph  himself,  Patrick  Henry,  and  myself.* 
The  convention  met  on  the  1st  of  August,  renewed  their  associ- 
ation, appointed  delegates  to  the  Congress,  gave  them  instructions 
very  temperately  and  properly  expressed,  both  as  to  style  and 
matter  ;f  and  they  repaired  to  Philadelphia  at  the  time  appointed. 
The  splendid  proceedings  of  that  Congress,  at  their  first  session, 
belong  to  general  history,  are  known  to  every  one,  and  need  not 
therefore  be  noted  here.  They  terminated  their  session  on  the 
26th  of  October,  to  meet  again  on  the  10th  of  May  ensuing. 
The  convention,  at  their  ensuing  session  of  March,  '75,  approved 
of  the  proceedings  of  Congress,  thanked  their  delegates,  and  re- 
appointed  the  same  persons  to  represent  the  colony  at  the  meet- 
ing to  be  held  in  May  :  and  foreseeing  the  probability  that  Pey- 
ton Randolph,  their  president,  and  speaker  also  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses,  might  be  called  off,  they  added  me,  in  that  event,  to 
the  delegation. 

Mr.  Randolph  was,  according  to  expectation,  obliged  to  leave 
the  chair  of  Congress,  to  attend  the  General  Assembly  summoned 
by  Lord  Dunmore,  to  meet  on  the  1st  day  of  June,  1775.  Lord 

*  See  Girardin's  History  of  Virginia,  Appendix  No.  12.  note, 
[f  See  Appendix,  note  D.] 


10  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

North's  conciliatory  propositions,  as  they  were  called,  had  been 
received  by  the  Governor,  and  furnished  the  subject  for  which 
this  assembly  was  convened.  Mr.  Randolph  accordingly  attended, 
and  the  tenor  of  these  propositions  being  generally  known,  as 
having  been  addressed  to  all  the  governors,  he  was  anxious  that 
the  answer  of  our  Assembly,  likely  to  be  the  first,  should  har- 
monize with  what  he  knew  to  be  the  sentiments  and  wishes  of 
the  body  he  had  recently  left.  He  feared  that  Mr.  Nicholas, 
whose  mind  was  not  yet  up  to  the  mark  of  the  times,  would  un- 
dertake the  answer,  and  therefore  pressed  me  to  prepare  it.  I  did 
so,  and,  with  his  aid,  carried  it  through  the  House,  with  long  and 
doubtful  scruples  from  Mr.  Nicholas  and  James  Mercer,  and  a 
dash  of  cold  water  on  it  here  and  there,  enfeebling  it  somewhat, 
but  finally  with  unanimity,  or  a  vote  approaching  it.  This  be- 
ing passed,  I  repaired  immediately  to  Philadelphia,  and  conveyed 
to  Congress  the  first  notice  they  had  of  it.  It  was  entirely  ap- 
proved there.  I  took  my  seat  with  them  on  the  21st  of  June. 
On  the  24th,  a  committee  which  had  been  appointed  to  prepare 
a  declaration  of  the  causes  of  taking  up  arms,  brought  in  their 
report  (drawn  I  believe  by  J.  Rutledge)  which,  not  being  liked, 
the  House  recommitted  it,  on  the  26th,  and  added  Mr.  Dickinson 
and  myself  to  the  committee.  On  the  rising  of  the  House,  the 
committee  having  not  yet  met,  I  happened  to  find  myself  near 
Governor  W.  Livingston,  and  proposed  to  him  to  draw  the  paper. 
He  excused  himself  and  proposed  that  I  should  draw  it.  On  my 
pressing  him  with  urgency,  "  we  are  as  yet  but  new  acquaint- 
ances, sir,"  said  he,  "  why  are  you  so  earnest  for  my  doing  it  ?" 
"  Because,"  said  I,  "  I  have  been  informed  that  you  drew  the  Ad- 
dress to,  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  a  production,  certainly,  of  the 
finest  pen  in  America."  "  On  that,"  says  he,  "  perhaps,  sir,  you 
may  not  have  been  correctly  informed."  I  had  received  the  in- 
formation in  Virginia  from  Colonel  Harrison  on  his  return  from 
that  Congress.  Lee,  Livingston,  and  Jay  had  been  the  com- 
mittee for  that  draught.  The  first,  prepared  by  Lee,  had  been 
disapproved  and  recommitted.  The  second  was  drawn  by  Jay, 
but  being  presented  by  Governor  Livingston,  had  led  Colonel 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  H 

Harrison  into  the  error.  The  next  morning,  walking  in  the  hall 
of  Congress,  many  members  being  assembled,  but  the  House  not 
yet  formed,  I  observed  Mr.  Jay  speaking  to  R.  H.  Lee,  and  lead- 
ing him  by  the  button  of  his  coat  to  me.  "  I  understand,  sir," 
said  he  to  me,  "  that  this  gentleman  informed  you,  that  Governor 
Livingston  drew  the  Address  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain."  I 
assured  him,  at  once,  that  I  had  not  received  that  information  from 
Mr.  Lee,  and  that  not  a  word  had  ever  passed  on  the  subject  be- 
tween Mr.  Lee  and  myself;  and  after  some  explanations  the  sub- 
ject was  dropped.  These  gentlemen  had  had  some  sparrings  in 
debate  before,  and  continued  ever  very  hostile  to  each  other. 

I  prepared  a  draught  of  the  declaration  committed  to  us.  It 
was  too  strong  for  Mr.  Dickinson.  He  still  retained  the  hope  of 
reconciliation  with  the  mother  country,  and  was  unwilling  it 
should  be  lessened  by  offensive  statements.  He  was  so  honest  a 
man,  and  so  able  a  one,  that  he  was  greatly  indulged  even  by 
those  who  could  not  feel  his  scruples.  We  therefore  requested 
him  to  take  the  paper,  and  put  it  into  a  form  he  could  approve. 
He  did  so,  preparing  an  entire  new  statement,  and  preserving  of 
the  former  only  the  last  four  paragraphs  and  half  of  the  preceding 
one.  We  approved  and  reported  it  to  Congress,  who  accepted  it. 
Congress  gave  a  signal  proof  of  their  indulgence  to  Mr.  Dickinson, 
and  of  their  great  desire  not  to  go  too  fast  for  any  respectable  part 
of  our  body,  in  permitting  him  to  draw  their  second  petition  to 
the  King  according  to  his  own  ideas,  and  passing  it  with  scarcely 
any  amendment.  The  disgust  against  this  humility  was  general  ; 
and  Mr.  Dickinson's  delight  at  its  passage  was  the  only  circum- 
stance which  reconciled  them  to  it.  The  vote  being  passed,  al- 
though further  observation  on  it  was  out  of  order,  he  could  not 
refrain  from  rising  and  expressing  his  satisfaction,  and  concluded 
by  saying,  "  there  is  but  one  word,  Mr.  President,  in  the  paper 
which  I  disapprove,  and  that  is  the  word  Congress  ;"  on  which 
Ben  Harrison  rose  and  said,  "  There  is  but  one  word  in  the 
paper,  Mr.  President,  of  which  I  approve,  and  that  is  the  word 
Congress" 

On  the  22d  of  July,  Dr.  Franklin,  Mr.  Adams,  R.  H.  Lee,  and 


12  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

myself,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  and  report  on 
Lord  North's  conciliatory  resolution.  The  answer  of  the  Vir- 
ginia Assembly  on  that  subject  having  been  approved,  I  was  re- 
quested by  the  committee  to  prepare  this  report,  which  will  ac- 
count for  the  similarity  of  feature  in  the  two  instruments. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  1776,  the  convention  of  Virginia  in- 
structed their  delegates  in  Congress,  to  propose  to  that  body  to 
declare  the  colonies  independent  of  Great  Britain,  and  appointed 
a  committee  to  prepare  a  declaration  of  rights  and  plan  of  gov- 
ernment. 

*In  Congress,  Friday,  June  7,  1776.  The  delegates  from  Vir- 
ginia moved,  in  obedience  to  instructions  from  their  constituents, 
that  the  Congress  should  declare  that  these  United  colonies  are, 
and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  states,  that  they 
are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all 
political  connection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain 
is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved  ;  that  measures  should  be 
immediately  taken  for  procuring  the  assistance  of  foreign  powers, 
and  a  Confederation  be  formed  to  bind  the  colonies  more  closely 
together. 

The  House  being  obliged  to  attend  at  that  time  to  some  other 
business,  the  proposition  was  referred  to  the  next  day,  when  the 
members  were  ordered  to  attend  punctually  at  ten  o'clock. 

Saturday,  June  8.  They  proceeded  to  take  it  into  considera- 
tion, and  referred  it  to  a  committee  of  the  whole,  into  Avhich  they 
immediately  resolved  themselves,  and  passed  that  day  and  Mon- 
day, the  10th,  in  debating  on  the  subject. 

It  was  argued  by  Wilson,  Robert  R.  Livingston,  E.  Rutledge, 
Dickinson,  and  others — 

That,  though  they  were  friends  to  the  measures  themselves, 
and  saw  the  impossibility  that  we  should  ever  again  be  united 

[*  Here,  in  the  original  manuscript,  commence  the  "  two  preceding  sheet*"  referred 
to  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  page  26,  as  containing  "  notes"  taken  by  him  "  whilst  these 
things  were  going  on."  They  are  easily  distinguished  from  the  body  of  the  MS.  in 
which  they  were  inserted  by  him,  being  of  a  paper  very  different  in  size,  quality  aud 
color,  from  that  in  which  the  latter  is  written.] 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  13 

with  Great  Britain,  yet  they  were  against  adopting  them  at  this 
time  : 

That  the  conduct  we  had  formerly  observed  was  wise  and 
proper  now,  of  deferring  to  take  any  capital  step  till  the  voice  of 
the  people  drove  us  into  it : 

That  they  were  our  power,  and  without  them  our  declararations 
could  not  be  carried  into  effect : 

That  the  people  of  the  middle  colonies  (Maryland,  Delaware, 
Pennsylvania,  the  Jerseys  and  New  York)  were  not  yet  ripe  for 
bidding  adieu  to  British  connection,  but  that  they  were  fast  ripen- 
ing, and,  in  a  short  time,  would  join  in  the  general  voice  of 
America : 

That  the  resolution,  entered  into  by  this  House  on  the  15th  of 
May,  for  suppressing  the  exercise  of  all  powers  derived  from  the 
crown,  had  shown,  by  the  ferment  into  which  it  had  thrown 
these  middle  colonies,  that  they  had  not  yet  accommodated  their 
minds  to  a  separation  from  the  mother  country  : 

That  some  of  them  had  expressly  forbidden  their  delegates  to 
consent  to  such  a  declaration,  and  others  had  given  no  instruc- 
tions, and  consequently  no  powers  to  give  such  consent : 

That  if  the  delegates  of  any  particular  colony  had  no  power 
to  declare  such  colony  independent,  certain  they  were,  the  others 
could  not  declare  it  for  them  ;  the  colonies  being  as  yet  perfectly 
independent  of  each  other  : 

That  the  assembly  of  Pennsylvania  was  now  sitting  above 
stairs,  their  convention  would  sit  within  a  few  days,  the  conven- 
tion of  New  York  was  now  sitting,  and  those  of  the  Jerseys  and 
Delaware  counties  would  meet  on  the  Monday  following,  and  it 
was  probable  these  bodies  would  take  up  the  question  of  Inde- 
pendenca,  and  would  declare  to  their  delegates  the  voice  of 
their  state  : 

That  if  such  a  declaration  should  now  be  agreed  to,  these  del- 
egates must  retire,  and  possibly  their  colonies  might  secede  from 
the  Union : 

That  such  a  secession  would  weaken  us  more  than  could  be 
compensated  by  any  foreign  alliance  : 


14  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

That  in  the  event  of  such  a  division,  foreign  powers  would 
either  refuse  to  join  themselves  to  our  fortunes,  or,  having  us  so 
much  in  their  power  as  that  desperate  declaration  would  place  us, 
they  would  insist  on  terms  proportionably  more  hard  and  preju- 
dicial : 

That  we  had  little  reason  to  expect  an  alliance  with  those  to 
whom  alone,  as  yet,  we  had  cast  our  eyes  : 

That  France  and  Spain  had  reason  to  be  jealous  of  that  rising 
power,  which  would  one  day  certainly  strip  them  of  all  their 
American  possessions : 

That  it  was  more  likely  they  should  form  a  connection  with 
the  British  court,  who,  if  they  should  find  themselves  unable 
otherwise  to  extricate  themselves  from  their  difficulties,  would 
agree  to  a  partition  of  our  teritories,  restoring  Canada  to  France, 
and  the  Floridas  to  Spain,  to  accomplish  for  themselves  a  recov- 
ery of  these  colonies : 

That  it  would  not  be  long  before  we  should  receive  certain  in- 
formation of  the  disposition  of  the  French  court,  from  the  agent 
whom  we  had  sent  to  Paris  for  that  purpose  : 

That  if  this  disposition  should  be  favorable,  by  waiting  the 
event  of  the  present  campaign,  which  we  all  hoped  would  be  suc- 
cessful, we  should  have  reason  to  expect  an  alliance  on  better 
terms: 

That  this  would  in  fact  work  no  delay  of  any  effectual  aid 
from  such  ally,  as,  from  the  advance  of  the  season  and  distance 
of  our  situation,  it  was  impossible  we  could  receive  any  assist- 
ance during  this  campaign  : 

That  it  was  prudent  to  fix  among  ourselves  the  terms  on  which 
we  should  form  alliance,  before  we  declared  we  would  form  one 
at  all  events : 

And  that  if  these  were  agreed  on,  and  our  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence ready  by  the  time  our  Ambassador  should  be  prepared 
to  sail,  it  would  be  as  well  as  to  go  into  that  Declaration  at  this  day. 

On  the  other  side,  it  was  urged  by  J.  Adams,  Lee,  Wythe,  and 
others,  that  no  gentleman  had  argued  against  the  policy  or  the 
right  of  separation  from  Britain,  nor  had  supposed  it  possible  we 


AUTOBIOGKAPHY.  15 

should  ever  renew  our  connection ;  that  they  had  only  opposed 
its  being  now  declared  : 

That  the  question  was  not  whether,  by  a  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, we  should  make  ourselves  what  we  are  not ;  but 
whether  we  should  declare  a  fact  which  already  exists  : 

That,  as  to  the  people  or  parliament  of  England,  we  had  al- 
ways been  independent  of  them,  their  restraints  on  our  trade  de- 
riving efficacy  from  our  acquiescence  only,  and  not  from  any 
rights  they  possessed  of  imposing  them,  and  that  so  far,  our  con- 
nection had  been  federal  only,  and  was  now  dissolved  by  the 
commencement  of  hostilities  : 

That,  as  to  the  King,  we  had  been  bound  to  him  by  allegiance,  -, 
but  that  this  bond  was  now  dissolved  by  his  assent  to  the  last  act 
of  Parliament,  by  which  he  declares  us  out  of  his  protection,  and 
by  his  levying  war  on  us,  a  fact  which  had  long  ago  proved  us  out 
of  his  protection  ;  it  being  a  certain  position  in  law,  that  allegi- 
ance and  protection  are  reciprocal,  the  one  ceasing  when  the  other 
is  withdrawn : 

That  James  the  II.  never  declared  the  people  of  England  out 
of  his  protection,  yet  his  actions  proved  it,  and  the  Parliament 
declared  it : 

No  delegates  then  can  be  denied,  or  ever  want,  a  power  of  de- 
claring an  existing  truth  : 

That  the  delegates  from  the  Delaware  counties  having  declared 
their  constituents  ready  to  join,  there  are  only  two  colonies,  Penn- 
sylvania and  Maryland,  whose  delegates  are  absolutely  tied  up, 
and  that  these  had,  by  their  instructions,  only  reserved  a  right  of 
confirming  or  rejecting  the  measure  : 

That  the  instructions  from  Pennsylvania  might  be  accounted 
for  from  the  times  in  which  they  were  drawn,  near  a  twelvemonth 
ago,  since  which  the  face  of  affairs  has  totally  changed  : 

That  within  that  time,  it  had  become  apparent  that  Britain  was 
determined  to  accept  nothing  less  than  a  carte-blanche,  and  that 
the  King's  answer  to  the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Common 
Council  of  London,  which  had  come  to  hand  four  days  ago,  must 
have  satisfied  every  one  of  this  point : 


IQ  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

That  the  people  wait  for  us  to  lead  the  way  : 

That  they  are  in  favor  of  the  measure,  though  the  instructions 
given  by  some  of  their  representatives  are  not : 

That  the  voice  of  the  representatives  is  not  always  consonant 
with  the  voice  of  the  people,  and  that  this  is  remarkably  the  case 
in  these  middle  colonies  : 

That  the  effect  of  the  resolution  of  the  15th  of  May  has  proved 
this,  which,  raising  the  murmurs  of  some  in  the  colonies  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Maryland,  called  forth  the  opposing  voice  of  the  freer 
part  of  the  people,  and  proved  them  to  be  the  majority  even  in 
these  colonies : 

That  the  backwardness  of  these  two  colonies  might  be  as- 
cribed, partly  to  the  influence  of  proprietary  power  and  connections, 
and  partly,  to  their  having  not  yet  been  attacked  by  the  enemy  : 

That  these  causes  were  not  likely  to  be  soon  removed,  as  there 
seemed  no  probability  that  the  enemy  would  make  either  of  these 
the  seat  of  this  summer's  war : 

That  it  would  be  vain  to  wait  either  weeks  or  months  for  per- 
fect unanimity,  since  it  was  impossible  that  all  men  should  ever 
become  of  one  sentiment  on  any  question  : 

That  the  conduct  of  some  colonies,  from  the  beginning  of  this 
contest,  had  given  reason  to  suspect  it  was  their  settled  policy 
to  keep  in  the  rear  of  the  confederacy,  that  their  particular  pros- 
pect might  be  better,  even  in  the  worst  event : 

That,  therefore,  it  was  necessary  for  those  colonies  who  had 
thrown  themselves  forward  and  hazarded  all  from  the  beginning, 
to  come  forward  now  also,  and  put  all  again  to  their  own  hazard : 

That  the  history  of  the  Dutch  Revolution,  of  whom  three  states 
only  confederated  at  first,  proved  that  a  secession  of  some  colonies 
would  not  be  so  dangerous  as  some  apprehended  : 

That  a  declaration  of  Independence  alone  could  render  it  con- 
sistent with  Europeon  delicacy,  for  European  powers  to  treat  with 
us,  or  even  to  receive  an  Ambassador  from  us  : 

That  till  this,  they  would  not  receive  our  vessels  into  their 
ports,  nor  acknowledge  the  adjudications  of  our  courts  of  admi- 
rality  to  be  legitimate,  in  cases  of  capture  of  British  vessels : 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  17 

That  though  France  and  Spain  may  be  jealous  of  our  rising 
power,  they  must  think  it  will  be  much  more  formidable  with  the 
addition  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  will  therefore  see  it  their  interest 
to  prevent  a  coalition ;  but  should  they  refuse,  we  shall  be  but 
where  we  are  ;  whereas  without  trying,  we  shall  never  know 
whether  they  will  aid  us  or  not : 

That  the  present  campaign  may  be  unsuccessful,  and  therefore 
we  had  better  propose  an  alliance  while  our  affairs  wear  a  hope- 
ful aspect : 

That  to  wait  the  event  of  this  campaign  will  certainly  work 
delay,  because,  duriiig  the  summer,  France  may  assist  us  effectu- 
ally, by  cutting  off  those  supplies  of  provisions  from  England  and 
Ireland,  on  which  the  enemy's  armies  here  are  to  depend  ;  or  by 
setting  in  motion  the  great  power  they  have  collected  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  calling  our  enemy  to  the  defence  of  the  possessions 
they  have  there  : 

That  it  would  be  idle  to  lose  time  in  settling  the  terms  of  alli- 
ance, till  we  had  first  determined  we  would  enter  into  alliance : 

That  it  is  necessary  to  lose  no  time  in  opening  a  trade  for  our 
people,  who  will  want  clothes,  and  will  want  money  too,  for  the 
payment  of  taxes : 

And  that  the  only  misfortune  is,  that  we  did  not  enter  into  alli- 
ance with  France  six  months  sooner,  as,  besides  opening  her  ports 
for  the  vent  of  our  last  year's  produce,  she  might  have  marched 
an  army  into  Germany,  and  prevented  the  petty  princes  there, 
from  selling  their  unhappy  subjects  to  subdue  us. 

It  appearing  in  the  course  of  these  debates,  that  the  colonies  of 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and 
South  Carolina  were  not  yet  matured  for  falling  from  the  parent 
stem,  but  that  they  were  fast  advancing  to  that  state,  it  was 
thought  most  prudent  to  wait  a  while  for  them,  and  to  postpone 
the  final  decision  to  July  1st ;  but,  that  this  might  occasion  as 
little  delay  as  possible,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a 
Declaration  of  Independence.  The  committee  were  John  Adams, 
Dr. -Franklin,  Roger  Sherman,  Robert  R.  Livingston,  and  myself. 
Committees  were  also  appointed,  at  the  same  time,  to  prepare  a 
VOL  i  2 


18  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

plan  of  confederation  for  the  colonies,  and  to  state  the  terms 
proper  to  be  proposed  for  foreign  alliance.     The  committee  for 
drawing  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  desired  me  to  do  it. 
It  was  accordingly  done,  and  being  approved  by  them,  I  reported 
it  to  the  House  on  Friday,  the  28th  of  June,  when  it  was  read, 
and  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table.     On  Monday,  the  1st  of  July,  the 
House  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  and  re- 
sumed the  consideration  of  the  original  motion  made  by  the  dele- 
gates of  Virginia,  which,  being  again  debated  through  the  day, 
was  carried  in  the  affirmative  by  the  votes  of  New  Hampshire, 
Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  North  Carolina  and  Georgia.     South  Carolina  and  Penn- 
sylvania voted   against   it.     Delaware   had  but   two   members 
present,  and  they  were  divided.     The  delegates  from  New  York 
declared  they  were  for  it  themselves,  and  were  assured  their  con- 
stituents were  for  it ;  but  that  their  instructions  having  been 
drawn  near  a  twelvemonth  before,  when  reconciliation  was  still 
the  general  object,  they  were  enjoined  by  them  to  do  nothing 
which   should   impede    that   object.     They,  therefore,  thought 
themselves  not  justifiable  in  voting  on  either  side,  and  asked  leave 
to  withdraw  from  the  question  ;  which  was  given  them.     The 
committee  rose  and  reported  their  resolution  to  the  House.     Mr. 
Edward  Rutledge,  of  South  Carolina,  then  requested  the  deter- 
mination might  be  put  off  to  the  next  day,  as  he  believed  his 
colleagues,  though  they  disapproved  of  the  resolution,  would  then 
join  in  it  for  the  sake  of  unanimity.     The  ultimate  question, 
whether  the  House  would  agree  to  the  resolution  of  the  com- 
mittee, was  accordingly  postponed  to  the  next  day,  when  it  was 
again  moved,  and  South  Carolina  concurred  in  voting  for  it.     In 
the  meantime,  a  third  member  had  come  post  from  the  Delaware 
counties,  and  turned  the  vote  of  that  colony  in  favor  of  the  reso- 
lution.    Members  of  a  different  sentiment  attending  that  morning 
from  Pennsylvania  also,  her  vote  was  changed,  so  that  the  whole 
twelve  colonies  who  were  authorized  to  vote  at  all,  gave  their 
voices  for  it ;  and,  within  a  few  days,*  the  convention  of  New 

*  July  9. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  19 

York  approved  of  it,  and  thus  supplied  the  void  occasioned  by  the 
withdrawing  of  her  delegates  from  the  vote. 

Congress  proceeded  the  same  day  to  consider  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  which  had  been  reported  and  lain  on  the  table 
the  Friday  preceding,  and  on  Monday  referred  to  a  committee  of 
the  whole.  The  pusillanimous  idea  that  we  had  friends  in  Eng- 
land worth  keeping  terms  with,  still  haunted  the  minds  of  many. 
For  this  reason,  those  passages  which  conveyed  censures  on  the 
people  of  England  were  struck  out,  lest  they  should  give  them 
offence.  The  clause  too,  reprobating  the  enslaving  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Africa,  was  struck  out  in  complaisance  to  South  Carolina  * 
and  Georgia,  who  had  never  attempted  to  restrain  the  importation 
of  slaves,  and  who,  on  the  contrary,  still  wished  to  continue  it. 
Our  northern  brethren  also,  I  believe,  felt  a  little  tender  under  those 
censures  ;  for  though  their  people  had  very  few  slaves  themselves, 
yet  they  had  been  pretty  considerable  carriers  of  them  to  others. 
The  debates,  having  taken  up  the  greater  parts  of  the  2d,  3d,  and 
4th  days  of  July,  were,  on  the  evening  of  the  last,  closed  ;  the 
Declaration  was  reported  by  the  committee,  agreed  to  by  the 
House,  and  signed  by  every  member  present,  except  Mr.  Dickin- 
son. As  the  sentiments  of  men  are  known  not  only  by  what 
they  receive,  but  what  they  reject  also,  I  will  state  the  form  of 
the  Declaration  as  originally  reported.  The  parts  struck  out  by 
Congress  shall  be  distinguished  by  a  black  line  drawn  under 
them  ;*  and  those  inserted  by  them  shall  be  placed  in  the  margin, 
or  in  a  concurrent  column. 

A  Declaration  by  the  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  in  General  Congress  assembled. 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes 
necessary  for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands 
which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  as- 
sume among  the  powers  of  the  earth  the  separate  and 

[*  In  this  publication,  the  parts  struck  out  are  printed  in  Italics  and  inclosed  in 
brackets.] 


20  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

equal  station  to  which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  na- 
ture's God  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opin- 
ions of  mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the 
causes  which  impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self  evident :  that  all 
men  are  created  equal ;    that  they  are  endowed  by 

certain  their  creator  with  [inherent  and]  inalienable  rights  ; 

that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness ;  that  to  secure  these  rights,  governments 
are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed  ;  that  whenever  any 
form  of  government  becames  destructive  of  these  ends, 
it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and 
to  institute  new  government,  laying  its  foundation  on 
such  principles,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form, 
as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety 
and  happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that 
governments  long  established  should  not  be  changed 
for  light  and  transient  causes  ;  and  accordingly  all  ex- 
perience hath  shown  that  mankind  are  more  disposed 
to  suffer  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  them- 
selves by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  ac- 
customed. But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurp- 
ations, [begun  at  a  distinguished  period  and]  pursu- 
ing invariably  the  same  object,  evinces  a  design  to  re- 
duce them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right, 
it  is  their  duty  to  throw  off  such  government,  and  to 
provide  new  guards  for  their  future  security.  Such 
has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these  colonies  ;  and 
such  is  now  the  necessity  which  constrains  them  to 

alter  [expunge]  their  former  systems  of  government.     The 

history  of  the  present  king  of  Great  Britain  is  a  his- 

repeated          tory  of  [unremitting]  injuries  and  usurpations,  [among 
which  appears  no  solitary  fact  to  contradict  the  uniform 

aii  bavin?        tenor  of  the  rest,  but  all  have]  in  direct  object  the 
establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  states. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  21 

To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world 
[for  the  truth  of  which  we  pledge  a  faith  yet  unsullied 
by  falsehood.] 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  whole- 
some and  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  im- 
mediate and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in 
their  operation  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained ;  and, 
when  so  suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend 
to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people 
would  relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the 
legislature,  a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable 
to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places 
unusual,  uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  deposi- 
tory of  their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
fatiguing  them  into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly 
[and  continually]  for  opposing  with  manly  firmness 
his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolu- 
tions to  cause  others  to  be  elected,  whereby  the  legis- 
lative powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned 
to  the  people  at  large  for  their  exercise,  the  state  re- 
maining, in  the  meantime,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers 
of  invasion  from  without  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of 
these  states  ;  for  that  purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for 
naturalization  of  foreigners,  refusing  to  pass  others  to 
encourage  their  migrations  hither,  and  raising  the  con- 
ditions of  new  appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  [suffered]  the  administration  of  justice  [to-        obstructed 
tally  to  cease  in  some  of  these  states]  refusing  his  as-  by 

sent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 


22  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

He  has  made  [our]  judges  dependent  on  his  will 
alone  for  the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the  amount 
and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  [by  a 
self-assumed  power]  and  sent  hither  swarms  of  new 
officers  to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out  their  sub- 
stance. 

He  has  kept  among  us  in  times  of  peace  standing 
armies  [and  ships  of  war]  without  the  consent  of  our 
legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent 
of,  and  superior  to,  the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  ju- 
risdiction foreign  to  our  constitutions  and  unacknowl- 
edged by  our  laws,  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of 
pretended  legislation  for  quartering  large  bodies  of 
armed  troops  among  us  ;  for  protecting  them  by  a 
mock  trial  from  punishment  for  any  murders  which 
they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these  states; 
for  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world  ; 
for  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent ;  for  de- 

.n  many  cases  priving  us  [  ]  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury  ;  for  trans- 
porting us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pretended  of- 
fences ;  for  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws 
in  a  neighboring  province,  establishing  therein  an  ar- 
bitrary government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so 
as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument 
for  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into  these 

colonies  [states] ;  for  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our 

most  valuable  laws,  and  altering  fundamentally  the 
forms  of  our  governments ;  for  suspending  our  own 
legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves  invested  with 
power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

outdofhilna>r"       ^e  ^as  abdicated  government  here  [withdrawing 

S«h«TO       his  Sovernors,  and  declaring  us  out  of  his  allegiance 

against  ua.  an^  protection.] 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  23 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts, 
burnt  our  towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  peo- 
ple. 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  for- 
eign mercenaries  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  deso- 
lation and  tyranny  already  begun  with,;  circumstances 
of  cruelty  and  perfidy  f  1  unworthy  the  head  of  a  scarcely  parai- 

'  *     L    J  *  leledinthe 

civilized  nation.  mostbarta- 

roug  ages,  and 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow  citizens  taken  captive  totally 
on  the  high  seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  country,  to 
become  the  executioners  of  their  friends  and  brethren, 
or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  [  ]  endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  ucl^i-re™** 
of  our  frontiers,  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  j^J  £™ong  U!S 
known  rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruc- 
tion of  all  ages,  sexes  and  conditions  [of  existence.] 

[He  has  incited  treasonable  insurrections  of  our  fel- 
low citizens,  with  the  allurements  of  forfeiture  and 
confiscation  of  our  property.  .. 

He  has  waged  cruel  war  against  human  nature  it-  ^ 
self,  violating  its  most  sacred  rights  of  life  and  liberty 
in  the  persons  of  a  distant  people  who  never  offended 
him,  captivating  and  carrying  them  into  slavery  in 
another  hemisphere,  or  to  incur  miserable  death  in  their 
transportation  thither.  This  piratical  warfare,  the 
opprobium  of  INFIDEL  powers,  is  the  warfare  of  the 
CHRISTIAN  king'  of  Great  Britain.  Determined  to 
keep  open  a  market  where  MEN  should  be  bought  and 
sold,  he  has  prostituted  his  negative  for  suppressing 
every  legislative  attempt  to  prohibit  or  to  restrain  this 
execrable  commerce.  And  that  this  assemblage  of  hor- 
rors might  want  no  fact  of  distinguished  die,  he  is  now 
exciting  those  very  people  to  rise  in  arms  among  us, 
and  to  purchase  that  liberty  of  which  he  has  deprived 
them,  by  murdering  the  people  on  whom  he  also  ob- 
truded them  :  thus  pay  ing  off  former  crimes  committed 


24  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

against  the  LIBERTIES  of  one  people,  with  crimes  which 
he  urges  them  to  commit  against  the  LIVES  of  another.] 
In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions  we  have  petition- 
ed for  redress  in  the  most  humble  terms  :  our  repeated 
petitions  have  been  answered  only  by  repeated  injuries. 
A  prince  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every 
act  which  may  define  a  tyrant  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of 
free  a  [  ]  people  [who  mean  to  be  free.     Future  ages  will 

scarcely  believe  that  the  hardiness  of  one  man  adven- 
tured, within  the  short  compass  of  twelve  years  only, 
to  lay  a  foundation  so  broad  and  so  undisguised  for 
tyranny  over  a  people  fostered  and  fixed  in  principles 
of  freedom.] 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attentions  to  our 
British  brethren.     We  have  warned  them  from  time 
abieUnwarrant    to  time  of  attempts  by  their  legislature  to  extend  [a] 
us  jurisdiction  over    [these   our   states].     We   have   re- 

minded them  of  the  circumstances  of  our  emigration 
and  settlement  here,  [no  one  of  which  could  warrant 
so  strange  a  pretension  :  that  these  were  effected  at 
the  expense  of  our  own  blood  and  treasure,  unassisted 
by  the  wealth  or  the  strength  of  Great  Britain  :  that 
in  constituting  indeed  our  several  forms  of  govern- 
ment, we  had  adopted  one  common  king,  thereby  lay- 
ing a  foundation  for  perpetual  league  and  amity 
with  them  :  but  that  submission  to  their  parliament 
was  no  part  of  our  constitution,  nor  ever  in  idea,  if 
have  history  may  be  credited:  and,}  we  [  ]  appealed  to 

wnj*redhathem  their  native  justice  and  magnanimity  [as  well  as  to] 
the  ties  of  our  common  kindred  to  disavow  these 
wonid  inevit-  usurpations  which  [were  likely  to]  interrupt  our  con- 
nection and  correspondence.  They  too  have  been 
deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  of  consanguinity, 
[and  when  occasions  have  been  given  them,  by  the 
regular  course  of  their  laws,  of  removing  from  their 
councils  the  disturbers  of  our  harmony,  they  have,  by 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


25 


their  free  election,  re-established  them  in  power.  At 
this  very  time  too,  they  are  permitting  their  chief 
magistrate  to  send  over  not  only  soldiers  of  our  com- 
mon blood,  but  Scotch  and  foreign  mercenaries  to  in- 
vade and  destroy  its.  These  facts  have  given  the  last 
stab  to  agonizing  affection,  and  manly  spirit  bids  us 
to  renounce  forever  these  unfeeling  brethren.  We 
must  endeavor  to  forget  our  former  love  for  them,  and 
hold  them  as  we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind,  enemies 
in  war,  in  peace  friends.  We  might  have  been  a  free 
and  a  great  people  together ;  but  a  communication 
of  grandeur  and  of  freedom,  it  seems,  is  below  their 
dignity.  Be  it  so,  since  they  will  have  it.  The  road 
to  happiness  and  to  glory  is  open  to  us  too.  We 
will  tread  it  apart  from  them,  and]  acquiesce  in  the 
necessity  which  denounces  our  [eternal]  separa- 


tion [  ]  ! 


We  therefore  the  representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  General  Congress 
assembled,  do  in  the  name,  and 
by  the  authority  of  the  good 
people  of  these  [states  reject 
and  renounce  all  allegiance  and 
subjection  to  the  kings  of  Great 
Britain  and  all  others  who  may 
hereafter  claim  by,  through  or 
under  them  ;  we  utterly  dissolve 
all  political  connection  which 
may  heretofore  have  subsisted 
between  us  and  the  people  or 
parliament  of  Great  Britain  : 
and  finally  we  do  assert  and 
declare  these  colonies  to  be  free 


therefore 

and  hold  them 
as  we  hold  the 
rest  of  man- 
kind, enemies 
in  war,  in 
peace  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  General  Congress 
assembled,  appealing  to  the  su- 
preme judge  of  the  world  for 
the  rectitude  of  our  intentions, 
do  in  the  name,  and  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  good  people  of 
these  colonies,  solemnly  publish 
and  declare,  that  these  united 
colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought 
to  be  free  and  independent 
states;  that  they  are  absolved 
from  all  allegiance  to  the  British 
crown,  and  that  all  political  con- 
nection between  them  and  the 
state  of  Great  Britain  is,  and 


26 


JEFFEKSON'S    WOEKS. 


and  independent  states,]  and 
that  as  free  and  independen 
states,  they  have  full  power  to 
levy  war,  conclude  peace,  con- 
tract alliances,  establish  com- 
merce, and  to  do  all  other  acts 
and  things  which  independent 
states  may  of  right  do. 

And  for  the  support  of  this 
declaration,  we  mutually  pledge 
to  each  other  our  lives,  our  for- 
tunes, and  our  sacred  honor. 


ought"  to  be,  totally  dissolved  ; 
and  that  as  free  and  independent 
states,  they  have  full  power  to 
levy  war,  conclude  peace,  con- 
tract alliances,  establish  com- 
merce, and  to  do  all  other  acts 
and  things  which  independent 
states  may  of  right  do. 

And  for  the  support  of  this 
declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance 
on  the  protection  of  divine  prov- 
idence, we  mutually  pledge  to 
each  other  our  lives,  our  for- 
tunes, and  our  sacred  honor. 


The  Declaration  thus  signed  on  the  4th,  on  paper,  was  en- 
grossed on  parchment,  and  signed  again  on  the  2d  of  August. 

[Some  erroneous  statements  of  the  proceedings  on  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  having  got  before  the  public  in  latter  times, 
Mr.  Samuel  A.  Wells  asked  explanations  of  me,  which  are  given 
in  my  letter  to  him  of  May  12,  '19,  before  and  now  again  refer- 
red to.*  I  took  notes  in  my  place  while  these  things  were  going 
on,  and  at  their  close  wrote  them  out  in  form  and  with  correct- 
ness, and  from  1  to  7  of  the  two  preceding  sheets,  are  the  origin- 
als then  written  ;  as  the  two  following  are  of  the  earlier  debates 
on  the  Confederation,  which  I  took  in  like  manner. |] 

On  Friday,  July  12,  the  committee  appointed  to  draw  the  arti- 
cles of  Confederation  reported  them,  and,  on  the  22d,  the  House 
resolved  themselves  into  a  committee  to  take  them  into  considera- 
tion. On  the  30th  and  31st  of  that  month,  and  1st  of  the  en- 
suing, those  articles  were  debated  which  determined  the  propor- 

[*  See  Appendix,  note  B.] 

[f  The  above  note  of  the  author  is  on  a  slip  of  paper,  pasted  in  at  the  end  of 
the  Declaration.  Here  is  also  sewed  into  the  MS.  a  slip  of  newspaper  containing, 
under  the  head  "  Declaration  of  Independence,"  a  letter  from  Thomas  M'Kean,  to 
Messrs.  William  M'Corkle  <t  Son,  dated  '  Philadelphia,  June  16,  1817."  This  letter 
it  to  be  found  in  the  Port  Folio,  Sept.  1817,  p.  249.] 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  27 

tion,  or  quota,  of  money  which  each  state  should  furnish  to  the 
common  treasury,  and  the  manner  of  voting  in  Congress.  The 
first  of  these  articles  was  expressed  in  the  original  draught  in 
these  words.  "  Art.  XI.  All  charges  of  war  and  all  other  ex- 
penses that  shall  be  incurred  for  the  common  defence,  or  general 
welfare,  and  allowed  by  the  United  States  assembled,  shall  be  de- 
frayed out  of  a  common  treasury,  which  shall  be  supplied  by  the 
several  colonies  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  every 
age,  sex,  and  quality,  except  Indians  not  paying  taxes,  in  each 
colony,  a  true  account  of  which,  distinguishing  the  white  inhabit- 
ants, shall  be  triennially  taken  and  transmitted  to  the  Assembly 
of  the  United  States." 

Mr^jQhase  moved  that  the  quotas  should  be  fixed,  not  by  the 
number  of  inhabitants  of  every  condition,  but  by  that  of  the 
"  white  inhabitants."  He  admitted  that  taxation  should  be  al- 
ways in  proportion  to  property,  that  this  was,  in  theory,  the  true 
rule  ;  but  that,  from  a  variety  of  difficulties,  it  was  a  rule  which 
could  never  be  adopted  in  practice.  The  value  of  the  property  in 
every  State,  could  never  be  estimated  justly  and  equally.  Some 
other  measure  for  the  wealth  of  the  State  must  therefore  be  de- 
vised, some  standard  referred  to,  which  would  be  more  simple. 
He  considered  the  number  of  inhabitants  as  a  tolerably  good  cri- 
terion of  property,  and  that  this  might  always  be  obtained.  He 
therefore  thought  it  the  best  mode  which  we  could\ adopt,  with 
one  exception  only  :  he  observed  that  negroes  are  property,  and 
as  such,  cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  lands  or  personalities 
held  in  those  States  where  there  are  few  slaves  ;  that  the  surplus 
of  profit  which  a  Northern  farmer  is  able  to  lay  by,  he  invests  in 
cattle,  horses,  &c.,  whereas  a  Southern  farmer  lays  out  the  same 
surplus  in  slaves.  There  is  no  more  reason,  therefore,  for  taxing 
the  Southern  States  on  the  fanner's  head,  and  on  his  slave's  head, 
than  the  Northern  ones  on  their  farmer's  heads  and  the  heads  of 
their  cattle  ;  that  the  method  proposed  would,  therefore,  tax  the 
Southern  States  according  to  their  numbers  and  their  wealth  con- 
junctly,  while  the  Northern  would  be  taxed  on  numbers  only : 
that  negroes,  in  fact,  should  not  be  considered  as  members  of 


28  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

the  State,  more  than  cattle,  and  that  they  have  no  more  interest 
in  it. 

Mr.  John  Adams  observed,  that  the  numbers  of  people  were 
taken  by  this  article,  as  an  index  of  the  wealth  of  the  State,  and 
not  as  subjects  of  taxation  ;  that,  as  to  this  matter,  it  was  of  no 
consequence  by  what  name  you  called  your  people,  whether  by 
that  of  freemen  or  of  slaves ;  that  in  some  countries  the  laboring 
poor  were  called  freemen,  in  others  they  were  called  slaves  ;  but 
that  the  difference  as  to  the  state  was  imaginary  only.  What  mat- 
ters it  whether  a  landlord,  employing  ten  laborers  on  his  farm, 
gives  them  annually  as  much  money  as  will  buy  them  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  or  gives  them  those  necessaries  at  short  hand  ?  The 
ten  laborers  add  as  much  wealth  annually  to  the  State,  increase  its 
exports  as  much  in  the  one  case  as  the  other.  Certainly  five 
hundred  freemen  produce  no  more  profits,  no  greater  surplus  for 
the  payment  of  taxes,  than  five  hundred  slaves.  Therefore,  the 
State  in  which  are  the  laborers  called  freemen,  should  be  taxed  no 
more  than  that  in  which  are  those  called  slaves.  Suppose,  by  an 
extraordinary  operation  of  nature  or  of  law,  one  half  the  laborers 
of  a  State  could  in  the  course  of  one  night  be  transformed  into 
slaves ;  would  the  State  be  made  the  poorer  or  the  less  able  to  pay 
taxes  ?  That  the  condition  of  the  laboring  poor  in  most  coun- 
tries, that  of  the  fishermen  particularly  of  the  Northern  States,  is 
as  abject  as  that  of  slaves.  It  is  the  number  of  laborers  which 
produces  the  surplus  for  taxation,  and  numbers,  therefore,  indis- 
criminately, are  the  fair  index  of  wealth  ;  that  it  is  the  use  of  the 
word  "  property"  here,  and  its  application  to  some  of  the  people 
of  the  State,  which  produces  the  fallacy.  How  does  the  South- 
ern farmer  procure  slaves  ?  Either  by  importation  or  by  purchase 
from  his  neighbor.  If  he  imports  a  slave,  he  adds  one  to  the 
number  of  laborers  in  his  country,  and  proportionably  to  its  profits 
and  abilities  to  pay  taxes ;  if  he  buys  from  his  neighbor,  it  is  only 
a  transfer  of  a  laborer  from  one  farm  to  another,  which  does  not 
change  the  annual  produce  of  the  State,  and  therefore,  should  not 
change  its  tax  :  that  if  a  Northern  farmer  works  ten  laborers  on 
his  farm,  he  can,  it  is  true,  invest  the  surplus  of  ten  men's  labor 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  29 

in  cattle  ;  but  so  may  the  Southern  farmer,  working  ten  slaves  ; 
that  a  State  of  one  hundred  thousand  freemen  can  maintain  no 
more  cattle,  than  one  of  one  hundred  thousand  slaves.  There- 
fore, they  have  no  more  of  that  kind  of  property  ;  that  a  slave 
may  indeed,  from  the  custom  of  speech,  be  more  properly  called 
the  wealth  of  his  master,  than  the  free  laborer  might  be  called 
the  wealth  of  his  employer ;  but  as  to  the  State,  both  were  equally 
its  wealth,  and  should,  therefore,  equally  add  to  the  quota  of  its  tax. 

Mr.  Harrison  proposed,  as  a  compromise,  that  two  slaves  should 
be  counted  as  one  freeman.  He  affirmed  that  sjaves  did  not  do 
as  much  work  as  freemen,  and  doubted  if  two  effected  more  than 
one  ;  that  this  was  proved  by  the  price  of  labor ;  the  hire  of  a 
laborer  in  the  Southern  colonies  being  from  8  to  £12,  while  in 
the  Northern  it  was  generally  £24. 

Mr.  Wilson  said,  that  if  this  amendment  should  take  place,  the 
Southern  colonies  would  have  all  the  benefit  of  slaves,  whilst  the 
Northern  ones  would  bear  the  burthen  :  that  slaves  increase  the 
profits  of  a  State,  which  the  Southern  States  mean  to  take  to  them- 
selves ;  that  they  also  increase  the  burthen  of  defence,  which 
would  of  course  fall  so  much  the  heavier  on  the  Northern  :  that 
slaves  occupy  the  places  of  freemen,  and  eat  their  food.  Dismiss 
your  slaves,  and  freemen  will  take  their  places.  It  is  our  duty  to 
lay  every  discouragement  on  the  importation  of  slaves  ;  but  this 
amendment  would  give  the  jus  triiun  liberorum  to  him  who 
would  import  slaves :  that  other  kinds  of  property  were  pretty 
equally  distributed  through  all  the  colonies :  there  were  as  many 
cattle,  horses  and  sheep,  in  the  North  as  the  South,  and  South  as 
the  North  ;  but  not  so  as  to  slaves :  that  experience  has  shown 
that  those  colonies  have  been  always  able  to  pay  most,  which 
have  the  most  inhabitants,  whether  they  be  black  or  white  ;  and 
the  practice  of  the  Southern  colonies  has  always  been  to  make 
every  farmer  pay  poll  taxes  upon  all  his  laborers,  whether  they 
be  black  or  white.  He  acknowledges,  indeed,  that  freemen  work 
the  most ;  but  they  consume  the  most  also.  They  do  not  pro- 
duce a  greater  surplus  for  taxation.  The  slave  is  neither  fed  nor 
clothed  so  expensively  as  a  freeman.  Again,  white  women  are 


30  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

exempted  from  labor  generally,  but  negro  women  are  not.  In 
this,  then,  the  Southern  States  have  an  advantage  as  the  article 
now  stands.  It  has  sometimes  been  said,  that  slavery  is  neces- 
sary, because  the  commodities  they  raise  would  be  too  clear  for 
market  if  cultivated  by  freemen ;  but  now  it  is  said  that  the  labor 
of  the  slave  is  the  dearest. 

Mr.  Payne  urged  the  original  resolution  of  Congress,  to  propor- 
tion the  quotas  of  the  States  to  the  number  of  souls. 

Dr.  Witherspoon  was  of  opinion,  that  the  value  of  lands  and 
houses  was  the  best  estimate  of  the  wealth  of  a  nation,  and  that 
it  was  practicable  to  obtain  such  a  valuation.  This  is  the  true 
barometer  of  wealth.  The  one  now  proposed  is  imperfect  in  it- 
self, and  unequal  between  the  States.  It  has  been  objected  that 
negroes  eat  the  food  of  freemen,  and,  therefore,  should  be  taxed  ; 
horses  also  eat  the  food  of  freemen  ;  therefore  they  also  should  be 
taxed.  It  has  been  said  too,  that  in  carrying  slaves  into  the  esti- 
mate of  the  taxes  the  State  is  to  pay,  we  do  no  more  than  those 
States  themselves  do,  who  always  take  slaves  into  the  estimate  of 
the  taxes  the  individual  is  to  pay.  But  the  cases  are  not  parallel. 
In  the  Southern  colonies  slaves  pervade  the  whole  colony ;  but 
they  do  not  pervade  the  whole  continent.  That  as  to  the  original 
resolution  of  Congress,  to  proportion  the  quotas  according  to  the 
souls,  it  was  temporary  only,  and  related  to  the  moneys  heretofore 
emitted  :  whereas  we  are  now  entering  into  a  new  compact,  and 
therefore  stand  on  original  ground. 

August  1.  The  question  being  put,  the  amendment  proposed 
was  rejected  by  the  votes  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Penn- 
sylvania, against  those  of  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North 
and  South  Carolina.  Georgia  was  divided. 

The  other  article  was  in  these  words.  '<£Art.  XVII.  In  deter- 
mining questions,  each  colony  sh'all  have  one  vote." 

July  30,  31,  August  1.  Present  forty-one  members.  Mr. 
Chase  observed  this  article  was  the  most  likely  to  divide  us,  of 
any  one  proposed  in  the  draught  then  under  consideration  :  that 
the  larger  colonies  had  threatened  they  would  not  confederate  at 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  31 

all,  if  their  weight  in  Congress  should  not  be  equal  to  the  num- 
bers of  people  they  added  to  the  confederacy  ;  while  the  smaller 
ones  declared  against  a  union,  if  they  did  not  retain  an  equal  vote 
for  the  protection  of  their  rights.  That  it  was  of  the  utmost  con- 
sequence to  bring  the  parties  together,  as,  should  we  sever  from 
each  other,  either  no  foreign  power  will  ally  with  us  at  all,  or  the 
different  States  will  form  different  alliances,  and  thus  increase  the 
horrors  of  those  scenes  of  civil  war  and  bloodshed,  which  in  such 
a  state  of  separation  and  independence,  would  render  us  a  miserable 
people.  That  our  importance,  our  interests,  our  peace  required  that 
we  should  confederate,  and  that  mutual  sacrifices  should  be  made 
to  effect  a  compromise  of  this  difficult  question.  He  was  of  opinion, 
the  smaller  colonies  would  lose  their  rights,  if  they  were  not  fh 
some  instances  allowed  an  equal  vote  ;  and,  therefore,  that  a  dis- 
crimination should  take  place  among  the  questions  which  would 
come  before  Congress.  That  the  smaller  States  should  be  se- 
cured in  all  questions  concerning  life  or  liberty,  and  the  greater 
ones,  in  all  respecting  property.  He,  therefore,  proposed,  that  in 
votes  relating  to  money,  the  voice  of  each  colony  should  be  pro- 
portioned to  the  number  of  its  inhabitants. 

Dr.  Franklin  thought,  that  the  votes  should  be  so  proportioned 
in  all  cases.  He  took  notice  that  the  Delaware  counties  had 
bound  up  their  delegates  to  disagree  to  this  article.  He  thought 
it  a  very  extraordinary  language  to  be  held  by  any  State,  that  they 
would  not  confederate  with  us,  unless  we  would  let  them  dispose 
of  our  money.  Certainly,  if  we  vote  equally,  we  ought  to  pay 
equally ;  but  the  smaller  States  will  hardly  purchase  the  privilege 
at  this  price.  That  had  he  lived  in  a  State  where  the  representa- 
tion, originally  equal,  had  become  unequal  by  time  and  accident, 
he  might  have  submitted  rather  than  disturb  government ;  but 
that  we  should  be  very  wrong  to  set  out  in  this  practice,  when  it 
is  in  our  power  to  establish  what  is  right.  That  at  the  time  of 
the  Union  between  England  and  Scotland,  the  latter  had  made 
the  objection  which  the  smaller  States  now  do  ;  but  experience 
had  proved  that  no  unfairness  had  ever  been  shown  them  :  that 
their  advocates  had  prognosticated  that  it  would  again  happen,  as 


32  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

in  times  of  old,  that  the  whale  would  swallow  Jonas,  but  he 
thought  the  prediction  reversed  in  event,  and  that  Jonas  had  swal- 
lowed the  whale  ;  for  the  Scotch  had  in  fact  got  possession  of  the 
government,  and  gave  laws  to  the  English.  He  reprobated  the 
original  agreement  of  Congress  to  vote  by  colonies,  and,  there- 
fore, was  for  their  voting,  in  all  cases,  according  to  the  number 
of  taxables. 

Dr.  Witherspoon  opposed  every  alteration  of  the  article.  All 
men  admit  that  a  confederacy  is  necessary.  Should  the  idea  get 
abroad  that  there  is  likely  to  be  no  union  among  us,  it  will  damp 
the  minds  of  the  people,  diminish  the  glory  of  our  straggle,  and 
lessen  its  importance  ;  because  it  will  open  to  our  view  future 
prospects  of  war  and  dissension  among  ourselves.  If  an  equal 
vote  be  refused,  the  smaller  States  will  become  vassals  to  the 
larger  ;  and  all  experience  has  shown  that  the  vassals  and  subjects 
of  free  States  are  the  most  enslaved.  He  instanced  the  Helots  of 
Sparta,  and  the  provinces  of  Rome.  He  observed  that  foreign 
powers,  discovering  this  blemish,  would  make  it  a  handle  for  dis- 
engaging the  smaller  States  from  so  unequal  a  confederacy.  That 
the  colonies  should  in  fact  be  considered  as  individuals  ;  and  that, 
as  such,  in  all  disputes,  they  should  have  an  equal  vote  ;  that  they 
are  now  collected  as  individuals  making  a  bargain  with  each 
other,  and,  of  course,  had  a  right  to  vote  as  individuals.  That 
in  the  East  India  Company  they  voted  by  persons,  and  not  by 
their  proportion  of  stock.  That  the  Belgic  confederacy  voted  by 
provinces.  That  in  questions  of  war  the  smaller  States  were  as 
much  interested  as  the  larger,  and  therefore,  should  vote  equally  ; 
and  indeed,  that  the  larger  States  were  more  likely  to  bring  war 
on  the  confederacy,  in  proportion  as  their  frontier  was  more  ex- 
tensive. He  admitted  that  equality  of  representation  was  an  ex- 
cellent principle,  but  then  it  must  be  of  things  which  are  co-or- 
dinate ;  that  is,  of  things  similar,  and  of  the  same  nature  :  that 
nothing  relating  to  individuals  could  ever  come  before  Congress ; 
nothing  but  what  would  respect  colonies.  He  distinguished  be- 
tween an  incorporating  and  a  federal  union.  The  union  of  Eng- 
land was  an  incorporating  one  ;  yet  Scotland  had  suffered  by  that 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  33 

union  ;  for  that  its  inhabitants  were  drawn  from  iv  by  the  hopes 
of  places  and  employments :  nor  was  it  an  instance  of  equality 
of  representation  ;  because,  while  Scotland  was  allowed  nearly  a 
thirteenth  of  representation,  they  were  to  pay  only  one  fortieth  of 
the  land  tax.  He  expressed  his  hopes,  that  in  the  present  en- 
lightened state  of  men's  minds,  we  might  expect  a  lasting  con- 
federacy, if  it  was  founded  or>.  fair  principles. 

John  Adams  advocated  the  voting  in  proportion  to  numbers. 
He  said  that  we  stand  here  as  the  representatives  of  the  people  : 
that  in  some  States  the  people  are  many,  in  others  they  are  few ; 
that  therefore,  their  vote  here  should  be  proportioned  to  the  num- 
bers from  whom  it  comes.  JRcns^n,  j'^ti^p  and.^uitjt  never  had 
weight  enough  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  to  govern  the  councils  of 
men.  It  isjntcrest  alone  which  does  it,  and  it  is  interest  alone 
which  can  be  trusted  :  that  therefore  the  interests  within  doors, 
should  be  the  mathematical  representatives  of  the  interests  without 
doors  :  that  the  individuality  of  the  colonies  is  a  mere  sound. 
Does  the  individuality  of  a  colony  increase  its  wealth  or  num- 
bers ?  If  it  docs,  pay  equally.  If  it  does  not  add  weight  in  the 
scale  of  the  confederacy,  it  cannot  add  to  their  rights,  nor  weigh 
in  argument.  A.  has  £50,  B.  £500,  C.  £1000  in  partnership.  Is 
it  just  they  should  equally  dispose  of  the  moneys  of  the  partner- 
ship ?  It  has  been  said,  we  are  independent  individuals  making 
a  bargain  together.  The  question  is  not  what  we  are  now,  bul 
what  we  ought  to  be  when  our  bargain  shall  be  made.  The  con- 
federacy is  to  make  us  one  individual  only  ;  it  is  to  form  us  like 
separate  parcels  of  metal,  into  one  common  mass.  We  shall  no 
longer  retain  our  separate  individuality,  but  become  a  single  in- 
dividual as  to  all  questions  submitted  to  the  confederacy.  There- 
fore, all  those  reasons,  which  prove  the  justice  and  expediency  of 
equal  representation  in  other  assemblies,  hold  good  here.  It  has 
been  objected  that  a  proportional  vote  will  endanger  the  smallei 
States.  We  answer  that  an  equal  vote  will  endanger  the  larger. 
Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  Massachusetts,  are  the  three  greatei 
colonies.  Consider  their  distance,  their  difference  of  produce,  of 

interests,  and  of  manners,  and  it  is  apparent  they  can  never  have 
VOL.  i.  3 


34  JEfFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

an  interest  or  inclination  to  combine  for  the  oppression  of  the 
smaller :  that  the  smaller  will  naturally  divide  on  all  questions 
with  the  larger.  Rhode  Island,  from  its  relation,  similarity  and 
intercourse,  will  generally  pursue  the  same  objects  with  Massav 
chusetts ;  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Maryland,  with  Pennsylvania. 

Dr.  Rush  took  notice,  that  the  decay  of  the  liberties  of  the 
Dutch  republic  proceeded  from  three  causes.  1.  The  perfect 
unanimity  requisite  on  all  occasions.  2.  Their  obligation  to 
consult  their  constituents.  3.  Their  voting  by  provinces.  This 
last  destroyed  the  equality  of  representation,  and  the  liberties  of 
Great  Britain  also  are  sinking  from  the  same  defect.  That  a 
part  of  our  rights  is  deposited  in  the  hands  of  our  legislatures. 
There,  it  was  admitted,  there  should  be  an  equality  of  representa- 
tion. Another  part  of  our  rights  is  deposited  in  the  hands  of 
Congress :  why  is  it  not  equally  necessary  there  should  be  an 
equal  representation  there  ?  Were  it  possible  to  collect  the  whole 
body  of  the  people  together,  they  would  determine  the  questions 
submitted  to  them  by  their  majority.  Why  should  not  the  same 
majority  decide  when  voting  here,  by  their  representatives  ?  The 
larger  colonies  are  so  providentially  divided  in  situation,  as  to 
render  every  fear  of  their  combining  visionary.  Their  interests 
are  different,  and  their  circumstances  dissimilar.  It  is  more  prob- 
able they  will  become  rivals,  and  leave  it  in  the  power  of  the 
smaller  States  to  give  preponderance  to  any  scale  they  please.  The 
voting  by  the  number  of  free  inhabitants,  will  have  one  excellent 
effect,  that  of  inducing  the  colonies  to  discourage  slavery,  and  to 
encourage  the  increase  of  their  free  inhabitants. 

Mr.  Hopkins  observed,  there  were*  four  larger,  four  smaller,  and 
four  middle-sized  colonies.  That  the  four  largest  would  contain 
more  than  half  the  inhabitants  of  the  confederated  States,  and 
therefore,  would  govern  the  others  as  they  should  please.  That 
history  affords  no  instance  of  such  a  thing  as  equal  representation. 
The  Germanic  body  votes  by  States.  The  Helvetic  body  does 
the  same  ;  and  so  does  the  Belgic  confederacy.  That  too  little 
is  known  of  the  ancient  confederations,  to  say  what  was  their 
practice. 


AUTOBIOGEAPHY.  35 

Mr.  Wilson  thought,  that  taxation  should  he  in  proportion  to 
wealth,  hut  that  representation  should  accord  with  the  number 
of  freemen.  That  government  is  a  collection  or  result  of  the 
wills  of  all :  that  if  any  government  could  speak  the  will  of  all, 
it  would  he  perfect ;  and  that,  so  far  as  it  departs  from  this,  it  he- 
comes  imperfect.  It  has  been  said  that  Congress  is  a  representa- 
tion of  States,  not  of  individuals.  I  say,  that  the  objects  of  its 
care  are  all  the  individuals  of  the  States.  It  is  strange  that  an- 
nexing the  name  of  "  State"  to  ten  thousand  men,  should  give 
them  an  equal  right  with  forty  thousand.  This  must  he  the  ef- 
fect of  magic,  not  of  reason.  As  to  those  matters  which  are  re- 
ferred to  Congress,  we  are  not  so  many  States ;  we  are  one  large 
State.  We  lay  aside  our  individuality,  whenever  we  come  here. 
The  Germanic  body  is  a  burlesque  on  government ;  and  their 
practice,  on  any  point,  is  a  sufficient  authority  and  proof  that  it 
is  wrong.  The  greatest  imperfection  in  the  constitution  of  the 
Belgic  confederacy  is  their  voting  by  provinces.  The  interest 
of  the  whole  is  constantly  sacrificed  to  that  of  the  small  States. 
The  history  of  the  war  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  sufficiently 
proves  this.  It  is  asked,  shall  nine  colonies  put  it  into  the  power 
of  four  to  govern  them  as  they  please  ?  I  invert  the  question, 
and  ask,  shall  two  millions  of  people  put  it  in  the  power  of  one 
million  to  govern  them  as  they  please  ?  It  is  pretended,  too,  that 
the  smaller  colonies  will  be  in  danger  from  the  greater.  Speak 
in  honest  language  and  say,  the  minority  will  be  in  danger  from 
'  the  majority.  And  is  there  an  assembly  on  earth,  where  this 
danger  may  not  be  equally  pretended  ?  The  truth  is,  that  our 
proceedings  will  then  be  consentaneous  with  the  interests  of  the 
majority,  and  so  they  ought  to  be.  The  probability  is  much 
greater,  that  the  larger  States  will  disagree,  than  that  they  will 
combine.  I  defy  the  wit  of  man  to  invent  a  possible  case,  or  to 
suggest  any  one  thing  on  earth,  which  shall  be  for  the  interests 
of  Virginia,  Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts,  and  which  will  not 
also  be  for  the  interest  of  the  other  States.* 

[*  Here  terminate  the  author's  notes  of  the  "  earlier  debates  on  the  confederation," 
and  recommences  the  MS.  begun  by  him  in  1821.] 


36  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

These  articles,  reported  July  12,  '76,  were  debated  froih  day 
to  day,  and  time  to  time,  for  two  years,  were  ratified  July  9,  '78, 
by  ten  States,  by  New  Jersey  on  the  26th  of  November  of  the 
same  year,  and  by  Delaware  on  the  23d  of  February  following. 
Maryland  alone  held  off  two  years  more,  acceding  to  them 
March  1,  '81,  and  thus  closing  the  obligation. 

Our  delegation  had  been  renewed  for  the  ensuing  year,  com- 
mencing August  11 ;  but  the  new  goverjjment  was  now  organized, 
a  meeting  of  the  legislature  was  to  be  held  in  October,  and  I  had 
been  elected  a  member  by  my  county.  I  knew  that  our  legisla- 
tion, under  the  regal  government,  had  many  very  vicious  points 
which  urgently  required  reformation,  and  I  thought  I  could  be  of 
more  use  in  forwarding  that  work.  I  therefore  retired  from  my 
seat  in  Congress  on  the  2d  of  September,  resigned  it,  and  took 
my  place  in  the  legislature  of  my  State,  on  the  7th  of  October. 

On  the  llth,  I  moved  for  leave  to  bring  in  a  bill  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  courts  of  justice,  the  organization  of  which  was  of 
importance.  I  drew  the  bill ;  it  was  approved  by  the  committee, 
reported  and  passed,  after  going  through  its  due  course. 

On  the  12th,  I  obtained  leave  to  bring  in  a  bill  declaring 
tenants  in  tail  to  hold  their  lands  in  fee  simple.  In  the  earlier 
times  of  the  colony,  when  lands  were  to  be  obtained  for  little  or 
nothing,  some  provident  individuals  procured  large  grants ;  and, 
desirous  of  founding  great  families  for  themselves,  settled  them 
on  their  descendants  in  fee  tail.  The  transmission  of  this  property 
from  generation  to  generation,  in  the  same  name,  raised  up  a  dis-- 
tinct  set  of  families,  who,  being  privileged  by  law  in  the  perpetua- 
tion of  their  wealth,  were  thus  formed  into  a  Patrician  order,  dis- 
tinguished by  the  splendor  and  luxury  of  their  establishments. 
From  this  order,  too,  the  king  habitually  selected  his  counsellors 
of  State  ;  the  hope  of  which  distinction  devoted  the  whole  corps  to 
the  interests  and  will  of  the  crown.  To  annul  this  privilege,  and 
instead  of  an  aristocracy  of  wealth,  of  more  harm  and  danger,  than 
benefit,  to  society,  to  make  an  opening  for  the  aristocracy  of  virtue 
and  talent,  which  nature  has  wisely  provided  for  the  direction  of 
the  interests  of  society,  and  scattered  with  equal  hand  through  all 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  37 

its  conditions,  was  deemed  essential  to  a  well-ordered  republic. — 
To  effect  it,  no  violence  was  necessary,  no  deprivation  of  natural 
right,  but  rather  an  enlargement  of  it  by  a  repeal  of  the  law.  For 
this  would  authorize  the  present  holder  to  divide  the  property 
among  his  children  equally,  as  his  affections  were  divided ;  and 
would  place  them,  by  natural  generation,  on  the  level  of  their 
fellow  citizens.  But  this  repeal  was  strongly  opposed  by  Mr. 
Pendleton,  who  was  zealously  attached  to  ancient  establishments  ; 
and  who,  taken  all  in  all,  was  the  ablest  man  in  debate  I  have 
ever  met  with.  He  had  not  indeed  the  poetical  fancy  of  Mr. 
Henry,  his  sublime  imagination,  his  lofty  and  overwhelming 
diction ;  but  he  was  cool,  smooth  and  persuasive  ;  his  language 
flowing,  chaste  and  embellished  ;  his  conceptions  quick,  acute  and 
full  of  resource  ;  never  vanquished :  for  if  he  lost  the  main  battle, 
he  returned  upon  you,  and  regained  so  much  of  it  as  to  make  it  a 
drawn  one,  by  dexterous  manoEuvres,  skirmishes  in  detail,  and  the 
recovery  of  small  advantages  which,  little  singly,  were  important 
all  together.  You  never  knew  when  you  were  clear  of  him,  but 
were  harassed  by  his  perseverance,  until  the  patience  was  worn 
down  of  all  who  had  less  of  it  than  himself.  Add  to  this,  that  he 
was  one  of  the  most  virtuous  and  benevolent  of  men,  the  kindest 
friend,  the  most  amiable  and  pleasant  of  companions,  which  en- 
sured a  favorable  reception  to  whatever  came  from  him.  Finding 
that  the  general  principle  of  entails  could  not  be  maintained,  he 
took  his  stand  on  an  amendment  which  he  proposed,  instead  of 
an  absolute  abolition,  to  permit  the  tenant  in  tail  to  convey  in  fee 
simple,  if 'he  choss  it ;  and  he  was  within  a  few  votes  of  saving 
so  much  of  the  old  law.  But  the  bill  passed  finally  for  entire 
abolition. 

In  that  one  of  the  bills  for  organizing  our  judiciary  system, 
which  proposed  a  court  of  Chancery,  I  had  provided  for  a  trial 
by  jury  of  all  matters  of  fact,  in  that  as  well  as  in  the  courts 
of  law.  He  defeated  it  by  the  introduction  of  four  words  only, 
" if 'either  party  choose."  The  consequence  has  been,  that  as  no 
suitor  will  say  to  his  judge,  "  Sir,  I  distrust  you,  give  me  a  jury," 


192486 


38  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

juries  are.  rarely,  I  might  say,  perhaps,  never,  seen  in  that  court, 
but  when  called  for  by  the  Chancellor  of  his  own  accord. 

The  first  establishment  in  Virginia  which  became  permanent, 
was  made  in  1607.  I  have  found  no  mention  of  negroes  in  the 
colony  until  about  1650.  The  first  brought  here  as  slaves  were 
by  a  Dutch  ship ;  after  which  the  English  commenced  the  trade, 
and  continued  it  until  the  revolutionary  war.  That  suspended, 
ip so  facto,  their  further  importation  for  the  present,  and  the  busi- 
ness of  the  war  pressing  constantly  on  the  legislature,  this  subject 
was  not  acted  on  finally  until  the  year  '78,  when  I  brought  in  a 
bill  to  prevent  their  further  importation.  This  passed  without 
opposition,  and  stopped  the  increase  of  the  evil  by  importation, 
leaving  to  future  efforts  its  final  eradication. 

The  first  settlers  of  this  colony  were  Englishmen,  loyal  sub- 
jects to  their  king  and  church,  and  the  grant  to  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  contained  an  express  proviso  that  their  laws  "  should  not 
be  against  the  true  Christian  faith,  now  professed  in  the  church 
of  England."  As  soon  as  the  state  of  the  colony  admitted,  it 
was  divided  into  parishes,  in  each  of  which  was  established  a  min- 
ister of  the  Anglican  church,  endowed  with  a  fixed  salary,  in  to- 
bacco, a  glebe  house  and  land  with  the  other  necessary  appendages. 
To  meet  these  expenses,  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  parishes  were 
assessed,  whether  they  were  or  not,  members  of  the  established 
church.  Towards  Quakers  who  came  here,  they  were  most 
cruelly  intolerant,  driving  them  from  the  colony  by  the  severest 
penalties.  In  process  of  time,  however,  other  sectarisms  were  in- 
troduced, chiefly  of  the  Presbyterian  family ;  and  the  established 
clergy,  secure  for  life  in  their  glebes  and  salaries,  adding  to  these, 
generally,  the  emoluments  of  a  classical  school,  found  employ- 
ment enough,  in  their  farms  and  school-rooms,  for  the  rest  of  the 
week,  and  devoted  Sunday  only  to  the  edification  of  their  flock, 
by  service,  and  a  sermon  at  their  parish  church.  Their  other 
pastoral  functions  were  little  attended  to.  Against  this  inactivity, 
the  zeal  and  industry  of  sectarian  preachers  had  an  open  and  un- 
disputed field  ;  and  by  the  time  of  the  revolution,  a  majority  of 
the  inhabitants  had  become  dissenters  from  the  established  church, 


AUTOBIOGKAPHY.  39 

but  were  still  obliged  to  pay  contributions  to  support  the  pastors 
of  the  minority.  This  unrighteous  compulsion,  to  maintain 
teachers  of  what  they  deemed  religious  errors,  was  grievously  felt 
during  the  regal  government,  and  without  a  hope  of  relief.  But 
the  first  republican  legislature,  which  met  in  '76,  was  crowded 
with  petitions  to  abolish  this  spiritual  tyranny.  These  brought 
on  the  severest  contests  in  which  I  have  ever  been  engaged.  Our 
great  opponents  were  Mr.  Pendleton  and  Robert  Carter  Nicholas ; 
honest  men,  but  zealous  churchmen.  The  petitions  were  referred 
to  the  committee  of  the  whole  house  on  the  state  of  the  country 
and,  after  desperate  contests  in  that  committee,  almost  daily  frorr 
the  llth  of  October  to  the  5th  of  December,  we  prevailed  so  fai 
only,  as  to  repeal  the  laws  which  rendered  criminal  the  mainten- 
ance of  any  religious  opinions,  the  forbearance  of  repairing  tc 
church,  or  the  exercise  of  any  mode  of  worship ;  and  further,  tc 
exempt  dissenters  from  contributions  to  the  support  of  the  estab- 
lished church  ;  and  to  suspend,  only  until  the  next  session,  levies 
on  the  members  of  that  church  for  the  salaries  of  their  own  in- 
cumbents. For  although  the  majority  of  our  citizens  were  dis- 
senters, ars  has  been  observed,  a  majority  of  the  legislature  were 
churchmen.  Among  these,  however,  were  some  reasonable  and 
liberal  men,  who  enabled  us,  on  some  points,  to  obtain  feeble  ma- 
jorities. But  our  opponents  carried,  in  the  general  resolutions  of 
the  committee  of  November  19,  a  declaration  that  religious  assem- 
blies ought  to  be  regulated,  and  that  provision  ought  to  be  made 
for  continuing  the  succession  of  the  clergy,  and  superintending 
their  conduct.  And,  in  the  bill  now  passed,  was  inserted  an  ex- 
press reservation  of  the  question,  Whether  a  general  assessment 
should  not  be  established  by  law,  on  every  one,  to  the  support  of 
the  pastor  of  his  choice  ;  or  whether  all  should  be  left  to  volun- 
tary contributions  ;  and  on  this  question,,  debated  at  every  session, 
from  '76  to  '79,  (some  of  our  dissenting  allies,  having  now  se- 
cured their  particular  object,  going  over  to  the  advocates  of  a  gen- 
eral assessment,)  we  could  only  obtain  a  suspension  from  session 
to  session  until  '79,  when  the  question  against  a  general  assess- 
•nent  was  finally  carried,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Anglican 


40  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

church  entirely  put  down.  In  justice  to  the  two  honest  but 
zealous  opponents  who  have  been  named,  I  must  add,  that  al- 
though, from  their  natural  temperaments,  they  were  more  dis- 
posed generally  to  acquiesce  in  things  as  they  are,  than  to  risk  in- 
novations, yet  whenever  the  public  will  had  once  decided,  none 
were  more  faithful  or  exact  in  their  obedience  to  it. 

The  seat  of  our  government  had  originally  been  fixed  in  the 
peninsula  of  Jamestown,  the  first  settlement  of  the  colonists  ;  and 
had  been  afterwards  removed  a  few  miles  inland  to  Williams- 
burg.  But  this  was  at  a  time  when  our  settlements  had  not  ex- 
tended beyond  the  tide  waters.  Now  they  had  crossed  the  Al- 
leghany  ;  and  the  centre  of  population  was  very  far  removed  from 
what  it  had  been.  Yet  Williamsburg  was  still  the  depository  of 
our  archives,  the  habitual  residence  of  the  Governor  and  many 
other  of  the  public  functionaries,  the  established  place  for  the 
sessions  of  the  legislature,  and  the  magazine  of  our  military 
stores ;  and  its  situation  was  so  exposed  that  it  might  be  taken  at 
any  time  in  war,  and,  at  this  time  particularly,  an  enemy  might 
in  the  night  run  up  either  of  the  rivers,  between  which  it  lies, 
land  a  force  above,  and  take  possession  of  the  place,  without  the 
possibility  of  saving  either  persons  or  things.  I  had  proposed  its 
removal  so  early  as  October,  '76 ;  but  it  did  not  prevail  until  the 
session  of  May,  '79. 

Early  in  the  session  of  May,  '79, 1  prepared,  and  obtained  leave 
to  bring  in  a  bill,  declaring  who  should  be  deemed  citizens,  as- 
serting the  natural  right  of  expatriation,  and  prescribing  the  mode 
of  exercising  it.  This,  when  I  withdrew  from  the  house,  on  the 
1st  of  June  following,  I  left  in  the  hands  of  George  Mason,  and 
it  was  passed  on  the  26th  of  that  month. 

In  giving  this  account  of  the  laws  of  which  I  was  myself  the 
mover  and  draughtsman,  I,  by  no  means,  mean  to  claim  to  my- 
self the  merit  of  obtaining  their  passage.  I  had  many  occasional 
and  strenuous  coadjutors  in  debate,  and  one,  most  steadfast,  able 
and  zealous ;  who  was  himself  a  host.  This  was  George  Mason, 
a  man  of  the  first  order  of  wisdom  among  those  who  acted  on 
the  theatre  of  the  revolution,  of  expansive  mind,  profound  judg- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  41 

meat,  cogent  in  argument,  learned  in  the  lore  of  our  former  con- 
stitution, and  earnest  for  the  republican  change  on  democratic 
principles.  His  elocution  was  neither  flowing  nor  smooth  ;  but 
his  language  was  strong,  his  manner  most  impressive,  and 
strengthened  by  a  dash  of  biting  cynicism,  when  provocation 
made  it  seasonable. 

Mr.  Wy the,  while  speaker  in  the  two  sessions  of  1777,  between 
his  return  from  Congress  and  his  appointment  to  the  Chancery, 
was  an  able  and  constant  associate  in  whatever  was  before  a  com- 
mittee of  the  whole.  His  pure  integrity,  judgment  and  reason- 
ing powers,  gave  him  great  weight.  Of  him,  see  more  in  some 
notes  inclosed  in  my  letter  of  August  31,  1821,  to  Mr.  John 
Saimderson.* 

Mr.  Madison  came  into  the  House  in  1776,  a  new  member  and 
young  ;  which  circumstances,  concurring  with  his  extreme 
modesty,  prevented  his  venturing  himself  in  debate  before  his 
removal  to  the  Council  of  State,  in  November,  '77.  From  thence 
he  went  to  Congress,  then  consisting  of  few  members.  Trained 
in  these  successive  schools,  he  acquired  a  habit  of  self-possession, 
which  placed  at  ready  command  the  rich  resources  of  his  lumi- 
nous and  discriminating  mind,  and  of  his  extensive  information, 
and  rendered  him  the  first  of  every  assembly  afterwards,  of  which 
he  became  a  member.  Never  wandering  from  his  subject  into 
vain  declamation,  but  pursuing  it  closely,  in  language  pure,  class- 
ical and  copious,  soothing  always  the  feelings  of  his  adversaries 
by  civilities  and  softness  of  expression,  he  rose  to  the  eminent 
station  which  he  held  in  the  great  National  Convention  of  1787  ; 
and  in  that  of  Virginia  which  followed,  he  sustained  the  new 
constitution  in  all  its  parts,  bearing  off  the  palm  against  the  logic 
of  George  Mason,  and  the  fervid  declamation  of  Mr.  Henry. 
With  these  consummate  powers,  were  united  a  pure  and  spotless 
virtue  which  no  calumny  has  ever  attempted  to  sully.  Of  the 
powers  and  polish  of  his  pen,  and  of  the  wisdom  of  his  adminis- 
tration in  the  highest  office  of  the  nation,  I  need  say  nothing. 
They  have  spoken,  and  will  forever  speak  for  themselves. 

[*  See  Appendix,  note  A.] 


42  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

So  far  we  were  proceeding  in  the  details  of  reformation  only ; 
selecting  points  of  legislation,  prominent  in  character  and  princi- 
ple, urgent,  and  indicative  of  the  strength  of  the  general  pulse  of 
reformation.  When  I  left  Congress,  in  '76,  it  was  in  the  per- 
suasion that  our  whole  code  must  be  reviewed,  adapted  to  our  re- 
publican form  of  government ;  and,  now  that  we  had  no  negatives 
of  Councils,  Governors,  and  Kings  to  restrain  us  from  doing  right, 
that  it  should  be  corrected,  in  all  its  parts,  with  a  single  eye  to 
reason,  and  the  good  of  those  for  whose  government  it  was 
framed.  Early,  therefore,  in  the  session  of  '76,  to  which  I  re- 
turned, I  moved  and  presented  a  bill  for  the  revision  of  the  laws, 
which  was  passed  on  the  24th  of  October ;  and  on  the  5th  of  No- 
vember, Mr.  Pendleton,  Mr.  Wythe,  George  Mason,  Thomas  L. 
Lee,  and  myself,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  execute  the  work. 
We  agreed  to  meet  at  Fredericksburg  to  settle  the  plan  of  opera- 
tion, and  to  distribute  the  work.  We  met  there  accordingly,  on 
the  13th  of  January,  1777.  The  first  question  was,  whether  we 
should  propose  to  abolish  the  whole  existing  system  of  laws,  and 
prepare  a  new  and  complete  Institute,  or  preserve  the  general  sys- 
tem, and  only  modify  it  to  the  present  state  of  things.  Mr.  Pen- 
dleton, contrary  to  his  usual  disposition  in  favor  of  ancient  things, 
was  for  the  former  proposition,  in  which  he  was  joined  by  Mr. 
Lee.  To  this  it  was  objected,  that  to  abrogate  our  whole  system 
would  be  a  bold  measure,  and  probably  far  beyond  the  views  of 
the  legislature  ;  that  they  had  been  in  the  practice  of  revising, 
from  time  to  time,  the  laws  of  the  colony,  omitting  the  expired, 
the  repealed,  and  the  obsolete,  amending  only  those  retained,  and 
probably  meant  we  should  now  do  the  same,  only  including  the 
British  statutes  as  well  as  our  own  :  that  to  compose  a  new  In- 
stitute, like  those  of  Justinian  and  Bracton,  or  that  of  Blackstone, 
which  was  the  model  proposed  by  Mr.  Pendleton,  would  be  an 
arduous  undertaking,  of  vast  research,  of  great  consideration  and 
judgment ;  and  when  reduced  to  a  text,  every  word  of  that  text, 
from  the  imperfection  of  human  language,  and  its  incompetence 
to  express  distinctly  every  shade  of  idea,  would  become  a  subject 
of  question  and  chicanery,  until  settled  by  repeated  adjudications  j 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  43 

<uid  this  would  involve  us  for  ages  in  litigation  and  render  prop- 
erty uncertain,  until,  like  the  statutes  of  old,  eve  ry  word  had  been 
tried  and  settled  by  numerous  decisions,  and  by  new  volumes  of 
reports  and  commentaries ;  and  that  no  one  of  us,  probably,  would 
undertake  such  a  work,  wlrch  to  be  systematical,  must  be  the 
work  of  one  hand.  This  last  was  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Wythe, 
Mr.  Mason,  and  myself.  When  we  proceeded  to  the  distribution 
of  the  work,  Mr.  Mason  excused  himself,  as,  being  no  lawyer,  he 
felt  himself  unqualified  for  the  work,  and  he  resigned  soon  after. 
Mr.  Lee  excused  himself  on  the  same  ground,  and  died,  indeed,  in 
a  short  time.  The  other  two  gentlemen,  therefore,  and  myself 
divided  the  work  among  us.  The  common  law  and  statutes  to 
the  4  James  I.  (when  our  separate  legislature  was  established) 
were  assigned  to  me  ;  the  British  statutes,  from  that  period  to  the 
present  day,  to  Mr.  Wythe ;  and  the  Virginia  laws  to  Mr.  Pen- 
dleton.  As  the  law  of  Descents,  and  the  criminal  law  fell  of 
course  within  my  portion,  I  wished  the  committee  to  settle  the 
leading  principles  of  these,  as  a  guide  for  me  in  framing  them  ; 
and,  with  respect  to  the  first,  I  proposed  to  abolish  the  law  of  pri- 
mogeniture, and  to  make  real  estate  descendible  in  parcenary  to 
the  next  of  kin,  as  personal  property  is,  by  the  statute  of  distribu- 
tion. Mr.  Pendleton  wished  to  preserve  the  right  of  primogeni- 
ture, but  seeing  at  once  that  that  could  not  prevail,  he  proposed 
we  should  adopt  the  Hebrew  principle,  and  give  a  double  portion 
to  the  elder  son.  I  observed,  that  if  the  eldest  son  could  eat  twice 
as  much,  or  do  double  work,  it  might  be  a  natural  evidence  of  his 
right  to  a  double  portion ;  but  being  on  a  par  in  his  powers  and 
wants,  with  his  brothers  and  sisters,  he  should  be  on  a  par  also  in 
the  partition  of  the  patrimony  ;  and  such  was  the  decision  of  the 
other  members. 

On  the  subject  of  the  Criminal  law,  all  were  agreed,  that  the 
punishment  of  death  should  be  abolished,  except  for  treason  and 
murder ;  and  that,  for  other  felonies,  should  be  substituted  hard 
labor  in  the  public  works,  and  in  some  cases,  the  Lex  talionis. 
How  this  last  revolting  principle  came  to  obtain  our  approbation 
I  do  not  remember.  There  remained,  indeed,  in  our  laws,  a  ves- 


44  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

tige  of  it  in  a  single  case  of  a  slave  ;  it  was  the  English  law,  in 
the  time  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  copied  probably  from  the  Hebrew 
law  of  "  an  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,"  and  it  was  the 
law  of  several  ancient  people  ;  but  the  modern  mind  had  left  it 
far  in  the  rear  of  its  advances.  These  points,  however,  being 
settled,  we  repaired  to  our  respective  homes  for  the  preparation  of 
the  work. 

In  the  execution  of  my  part,  I  thought  it  material  not  to  vary 
the  diction  of  the  ancient  statutes  by  modernizing  it,  nor  to  give 
rise  to  new  questions  by  new  expressions.  The  text  of  these 
statutes  had  been  so  fully  explained  and  denned,  by  numerous 
adjudications,  as  scarcely  ever  now  to  produce  a  question  in  our 
courts.  I  thought  it  would  be  useful,  also,  in  all  new  draughts, 
to  reform  the  style  of  the  later  British  statutes,  and  of  our  own 
acts  of  Assembly ;  which,  from  their  verbosity,  their  endless  tau- 
tologies, their  involutions  of  case  within  case,  and  parenthesis 
within  parenthesis,  and  their  multiplied  efforts  at  certainty,  by 
saids  and  aforesaids,  by  ors  and  by  ands,  to  make  them  more 
plain,  are  really  rendered  more  perplexed  and  incomprehensible, 
not  only  to  common  readers,  but  to  the  lawyers  themselves.  We 
were  employed  in  this  work  from  that  time  to  February,  1779, 
when  we  met  at  Williamsburg,  that  is  to  say,  Mr.  Pendleton,  Mr. 
Wythe  and  myself ;  and  meeting  day  by  day,  we  examined  critic- 
ally our  several  parts,  sentence  by  sentence,  scrutinizing  and 
amending,  until  we  had  agreed  on  the  whole.  We  then  returned 
home,  had  fair  copies  made  of  our  several  parts,  which  were  re- 
ported to  the  General  Assembly,  June  18,  1779,  by  Mr.  Wythe 
and  myself,  Mr.  Pendleton's  residence  being  distant,  and  he  hav- 
ing authorized  us  by  letter  to  declare  his  approbation.  We  had, 
in  this  work,  brought  so  much  of  the  Common  law  as  it  was 
thought  necessary  to  alter,  all  the  British  statutes  from  Magna 
Charta  to  the  present  day,  and  all  the  laws  of  Virginia,  from  the 
establishment  of  our  legislature,  in  the  4th  Jac.  1.  to  the  present 
time,  which  we  thought  should  be  retained,  within  the  compass 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  bills,  making  a  printed  folio  of 
ninety  pages  only.  Some  bills  were  taken  out,  occasionally,  from 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  45 

time  to  time,  and  passed ;  but  the  main  body  of  the  work  was 
not  entered  on  by  the  legislature  until  after  the  general  peace,  in 
1785,  when,  by  the  unwearied  exertions  of  Mr.  Madison,  in  op- 
position to  the  endless  quibbles,  chicaneries,  perversions,  vexa- 
tions and  delays  of  lawyers  and  demi-lawyers,  most  of  the  bills 
were  passed  by  the  legislature,  with  little  alteration. 

The  bill  for  establishing  religious  freedom,  the  principles  of 
which  had,  to  a  certain  degree,  been  enacted  before,  I  had  drawn 
in  all  the  latitude  of  reason  and  right.  It  still  met  with  opposi- 
tion ;  but,  with  some  mutilations  in  the  preamble,  it  was  finally 
passed  ;  and  a  singular  proposition  proved  that  its  protection  of 
opinion  was  meant  to  be  universal.  Where  the  preamble  declares, 
that  coercion  is  a  departure  from  the  plan  of  the  holy  author  of 
our  religion,  an  amendment  was  proposed,  by  inserting  the  word 
"  Jesus  Christ,"  so  that  it  should  read,  "  a  departure  from  the  plan 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  holy  author  of  our  religion  ;"  the  insertion 
was  rejected  by  a  great  majority,  in  proof  that  they  meant  to 
comprehend,  within  the  mantle  of  its  protection,  the  Jew  and  the 
Gentile,  the  Christian  and  Mahometan,  the  Hindoo,  and  Infidel 
of  every  denomination. 

Beccaria,  and  other  writers  on  crimes  and  punishments,  had 
satisfied  the  reasonable  world  of  the  unrightfulness  and  ineffi- 
cacy  of  the  punishment  of  crimes  by  death ;  and  hard  labor  on 
roads,  canals  and  other  public  works,  had  been  suggested  as  a 
proper  substitute.  The  Revisers  had  adopted  these  opinions ;  but 
the  general  idea  of  our  country  had  not  yet  advanced  to  that 
point.  The  bill,  therefore,  for  proportioning  crimes  and  punish- 
ments, was  lost  in  the  House  of  Delegates  by  a  majority  of  a  sin- 
gle vote.  I  learned  afterwards,  that  the  substitute  of  hard  labor 
in  public,  was  tried  (I  believe  it  was  in  Pennsylvania)  without 
success.  Exhibited  as  a  public  spectacle,  with  shaved  heads  and 
mean  clothing,  working  on  the  high  roads,  produced  in  the  crimi- 
nals such  a  prostration  of  character,  such  an  abandonment  of  self- 
respect,  as,  instead  of  reforming,  plunged  them  into  the  most  des- 
perate and  hardened  depravity  of  morals  and  character.  To 
pursue  the  subject  of  this  law. — I  was  written  to  in  1785  (being 


46  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

then  in  Paris)  by  directors  appointed  to  superintend  the  building 
of  a  Capitol  in  Richmond,  to  advise  them  as  to  a  plan,  and  to  add 
to  it  one  of  a  Prison.  Thinking  it  a  favorable  opportunity  of  in- 
troducing into  the  State  an  example  of  architecture,  in  the  classic 
style  of  antiquity,  and  the  Maison  quarree  of  Nismes,  an  ancient 
Roman  temple,  being  considered  as  the  most  perfect  model  exist- 
ing of  what  may  be  called  Cubic  architecture,  I  applied  to  M. 
Clerissault,  who  had  published  drawings  of  the  Antiquities  of 
Nismes,  to  have  me  a  model  of  the  building  made  in  stucco,  only 
changing  the  order  from  Corinthian  to  Ionic,  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  of  the  Corinthian  capitals.  I  yielded,  with  reluctance, 
to  the  taste  of  Clerissault,  in  his  preference  of  the  modern  capital 
of  Scamozzi  to  the  more  noble  capital  of  antiquity.  This  was 
executed  by  the  artist  whom  Choiseul  Gouffier  had  carried  with 
him  to  Constantinople,  and  employed,  while  Ambassador  there, 
in  making  those  beautiful  models  of  the  remains  of  Grecian  archi- 
tecture which  are  to  be  seen  at  Paris.  To  adapt  the  exterior  to 
our  use,  I  drew  a  plan  for  the  interior,  with  the  apartments  neces- 
sary for  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary  purposes ;  and  accom- 
modated in  their  size  and  distribution  to  the  form  and  dimensions 
of  the  building.  These  were  forwarded  to  the  Directors,  in  1786, 
and  were  carried  into  execution,  with  some  variations,  not  for  the 
better,  the  most  important  of  which,  however,  admit  of  future 
correction.  With  respect  to  the  plan  of  a  Prison,  requested  at  the 
same  time,  I  had  heard  of  a  benevolent  society,  in  England, 
which  had  been  indulged  by  the  government,  in  an  experiment 
of  the  effect  of  labor,  in  solitary  confinement,  on  some  of  their 
criminals ;  which  experiment  had  succeeded  beyond  expectation. 
The  same  idea  had  been  suggested  in  France,  and  an  Architect 
of  Lyons  had  proposed  a  plan  of  a  well-contrived  edifice,  on  the 
principle  of  solitary  confinement.  I  procured  a  copy,  and  as  it 
was  too  large  for  our  purposes,  I  drew  one  on  a  scale  less  exten- 
sive, but  susceptible  of  additions  as  they  should  be  wanting. 
This  I  sent  to  the  Directors,  instead  of  a  plan  of  a  common 
prison,  in  the  hope  that  it  would  suggest  the  idea  of  labor  in  soli- 
tary confinement,  instead  of  that  on  the  public  works,  which  we 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  47 

had  adopted  in  our  Revised  Code.  Its  principle,  accordingly,  but 
not  its  exact  form,  was  adopted  by  Latrobe  in  carrying  the  plan 
into  execution,  by  the  erection  of  what  is  now  called  the  Peniten- 
tiary, built  under  his  direction.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  public 
opinion  was  ripening,  by  time,  by  reflection,  and  by  the  example 
of  Pennsylvania,  where  labor  on  the  highways  had  been  tried, 
without  approbation,  from  1786  to  '89,  and  had  been  followed  by 
their  Penitentiary  system  on  the  principle  of  confinement  and 
labor,  which  was  proceeding  auspiciously.  In  1796,  our  legisla- 
ture resumed  the  subject,  and  passed  the  law  for  amending  the 
Penal  laws  of  the  commonwealth.  They  adopted  solitary,  in- 
stead of  public,  labor,  established  a  gradation  in  the  duration  of 
the  confinement,  approximated  the  style  of  the  law  more  to  the 
modern  usage,  and,  instead  of  the  settled  distinctions  of  murder 
and  manslaughter,  preserved  in  my  bill,  they  introduced  the  new 
terms  of  murder  in  the  first  and  second  degree.  Whether  these 
have  produced  more  or  fewer  questions  of  definition,  I  am  not 
sufficiently  informed  of  our  judiciary  transactions  to  say.  I  will 
here,  however,  insert  the  text  of  my  bill,  with  the  notes  I  made 
in  the  course  of  my  researches  into  the  subject.* 

The  acts  of  Assembly  concerning  the  College  of  William  and 
Mary,  were  properly  within  Mr.  Pendleton's  portion  of  our  work  ; 
but  these  related  chiefly  to  its  revenue,  while  its  constitution,  or- 
ganization and  scope  of  science,  were  derived  from  its  charter. 
We  thought  that  on  this  subject,  a  systematical  plan  of  general 
education  should  be  proposed,  and  I  was  requested  to  undertake 
it.  I  accordingly  prepared  three  bills  for  the  Revisal,  proposing 
three  distinct  grades  of  education,  reaching  all  classes.  1st.  Ele- 
mentary schools,  for  all  children  generally,  rich  and  poor. 
2d.  Colleges,  for  a  middle  degree  of  instruction,  calculated  for 
the  common  purposes  of  life,  and  such  as  would  be  desirable  for 
all  who  were  in  easy  circumstances.  And,  3d,  an  ultimate  grade 
for  teaching  the  sciences  generally,  and  in  their  highest  degre*. 
The  first  bill  proposed  to  lay  off  every  county  into  Hundreds,  or 
Wards,  of  a  proper  size  and  population  for  a  school,  in  which 

[*  See  Appendix,  note  E.] 


48  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

reading,  writing,  and  common  arithmetic  should  be  taught ,  and 
that  the  whole  State  should  be  divided  into  twenty-four  districts, 
in  each  of  which  should  be  a  school  for  classical  learning,  gram- 
mar, geography,  and  the  higher  branches  of  numerical  arithmetic. 
The  second  bill  proposed  to  amend  the  constitution  of  William 
and  Mary  college,  to  enlarge  its  sphere  of  science,  and  to  make  it 
in  fact  a  University.  The  third  was  for  the  establishment  of  a 
library.  These  bills  were  not  acted  on  until  the  same  year,  '96, 
and  then  only  so  much  of  the  first  as  provided  for  elementary 
schools.  The  College  of  William  and  Mary  was  an  establish- 
ment purely  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  the  Visitors  were  re- 
quired to  be  all  of  that  Church  ;  the  Professors  to  subscribe  its 
thirty-nine  Articles ;  its  Students  to  learn  its  Catechism  ;  and  one 
of  its  fundamental  objects  was  declared  to  be,  to  raise  up  Minis- 
ters for  that  church.  The  religious  jealousies,  therefore,  of  all 
the  dissenters,  took  alarm  lest  this  might  give  an  ascendancy  to 
the  Anglican  sect,  and  refused  acting  on  that  bill.  Its  local  ec- 
centricity, too,  and  unhealthy  autumnal  climate,  lessened  the  gen- 
eral inclination  towards  it.  And  in  the  Elementary  bill,  they  in- 
serted a  provision  which  completely  defeated  it ;  for  they  left  it 
to  the  court  of  each  county  to  determine  for  itself,  when  this  act 
should  be  carried  into  execution,  within  their  county.  One  pro- 
vision of  the  bill  was,  that  the  expenses  of  these  schools  should 
be  borne  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  county,  every  one  in  propor- 
tion to  his  general  tax  rate.  This  would  throw  on  wealth  the 
education  of  the  poor ;  and  the  justices,  being  generally  of  the 
more  wealthy  class,  were  unwilling  to  incur  that  burden,  and  I 
believe  it  was  not  suffered  to  commence  in  a  single  county.  I 
shall  recur  again  to  this  subject,  towards  the  close  of  my  story,  if 
I  should  have  life  and  resolution  enough  to  reach  that  term  ;  for 
I  am  already  tired  of  talking  about  myself. 

The  bill  on  the  subject  of  slaves,  was  a  mere  digest  of  the  ex- 
isting laws  respecting  them,  without  any  intimation  of  a  plan  for 
a  future  and  general  emancipation.  It  was  thought  better  that 
this  should  be  kept  back,  and  attempted  only  by  way  of  amend- 
ment, whenever  the  bill  should  be  brought  on.  The  principles 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  49 

of  the  amendment,  however,  were  agreed  on,  that  is  to  say,  the 
freedom  of  all  born  after  a  certain  day,  and  deportation  at  a  proper 
age.  But  it  was  found  that  the  public  mind  would  not  yet  bear 
the  proposition,  nor  will  it  bear  it  even  at  this  day.  Yet  the 
day  is  not  distant  when  it  must  bear  and  adopt  it,  or  worse  will 
follow.  Nothing  is  more  certainly  written  in  the  book  of  fate, 
than  that  these  people  are  to  be  free  ;  nor  is  it  less  certain  that 
the  two  races,  equally  free,  cannot  live  in  the  same  government. 
Nature,  habit,  opinion  have  drawn  indelible  lines  of  distinction 
between  them.  It  is  still  in  our  power  to  direct  the  process  of 
emancipation  and  deportation,  peaceably,  and  in  such  slow  degree, 
as  that  the  evil  will  wear  off  insensibly,  and  their  place  be,  pari 
passu,  filled  up  by  free  white  laborers.  If,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  left 
to  force  itself  on,  human  nature  must  shudder  at  the  prospect  held 
up.  We  should  in  vain  look  for  an  example  in  the  Spanish  de- 
portation or  deletion  of  the  Moors.  This  precedent  would  fall 
far  short  of  our  case. 

I  considered  four  of  these  bills,  passed  or  reported,  as  forming 
a  system  by  which  every  fibre  would  be  eradicated  of  ancient  or 
future  aristocracy ;  and  a  foundation  laid  for  a  government  truly 
republican.  The  repeal  of  the  laws  of  entail  would  prevent  the 
accumulation  and  perpetuation  of  wealth,  in  select  families,  and 
preserve  the  soil  of  the  country  from  being  daily  more  and  more 
absorbed  in  mortmain.  The  abolition  of  primogeniture,  and 
equal  partition  of  inheritances,  removed  the  feudal  and  unnatural 
distinctions  which  made  one  member  of  every  family  rich,  and 
all  the  rest  poor,  substituting  equal  partition,  the  best  of  all  Agra- 
rian laws.  The  restoration  of  the  rights  of  conscience  relieved 
the  people  from  taxation  for  the  support  of  a  religion  not  theirs  j 
for  the  establishment  was  truly  of  the  religion  of  the  rich,  the 
dissenting  sects  being  entirely  composed  of  the  less  wealthy  peo- 
ple ;  and  these,  by  the  bill  for  a  general  education,  would  be 
qualified  to  understand  their  rights,  to  maintain  them,  and  to  ex- 
ercise with  intelligence  their  parts  in  self-government ;  and  all 
this  would  be  effected,  without  the  violation  of  a  single  natural 
right  of  any  one  individual  citizen.  To  these,  too,  might  be  add- 

VOL.  i.  4 


50  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

ed,  as  a  further  security,  the  introduction  of  the  trial  by  jury, 
into  the  Chancery  courts,  which  have  already  ingulfed,  and 
continue  to  ingulf,  so  great  a  proportion  of  the  jurisdiction  over 
our  property. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  1779,  I  was  appointed  Governor  of  the 
Commonwealth,  and  retired  from  the  legislature.  Being  elected, 
also,  one  of  the  Visitors  of  William  and  Mary  college,  a  self- 
electing  body,  I  effected,  during  my  residence  in  Williamsburg 
that  year,  a  change  in  the  organization  of  that  institution,  by 
abolishing  the  Grammar  school,  and  the  two  professorships  of 
Divinity  and  Oriental  languages,  and  substituting  a  professorship 
of  Law  and  Police,  one  of  Anatomy,  Medicine  and  Chemistry, 
and  one  of  Modern  languages ;  and  the  charter  confining  us  to 
six  professorships,  we  added  the  Law  of  Nature  and  Nations,  and 
the  Fine  Arts  to  the  duties  of  the  Moral  professor,  and  Natural 
History  to  those  of  the  professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy. 

Being  now,  as  it  were,  identified  with  the  Commonwealth  it- 
self, to  write  my  own  history,  during  the  two  years  of  my  ad- 
ministration, would  be  to  write  the  public  history  of  that  portion 
of  the  revolution  within  this  State.  This  has  been  done  by 
others,  and  particularly  by  Mr.  Girardin,  who  wrote  his  Continua- 
tion of  Burke's  History  of  Virginia,  while  at  Milton,  in  this 
neighborhood,  had  free  access  to  all  my  papers  while  composing 
it,  and  has  given  as  faithful  an  account  as  I  could  myself.  For 
this  portion,  therefore,  of  my  own  life,  I  refer  altogether  to  his 
history.  From  a  belief  that,  under  the  pressure  of  the  invasion 
under  which  we  were  then  laboring,  the  public  would  have  more 
confidence  in  a  Military  chief,  and  that  the  Military  commander, 
being  invested  with  the  Civil  power  also,  both  might  be  wielded 
with  more  energy,  promptitude  and  effect  for  the  defence  of  the 
State,  I  resigned  the  administration  at  the  end  of  my  second  year, 
and  General  Nelson  was  appointed  to  succeed  me. 

Soon  after  my  leaving  Congress,  in  September,  '76,  to  wit,  on 
the  last  day  of  that  month,  I  had  been  appointed,  with  Dr.  Frank- 
lin, to  go  to  France,  as  a  Commissioner,  to  negotiate  treaties  of 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  51 

alliance  and  commerce  with  that  government.     Silas  Deane,  then 
in  France,  acting  as*  agent  for  procuring  military  stores,  was 
joined  with  us  in  commission.     But  such  was  the  state  of  my 
family  that  I  could  not  leave  it,  nor  could  I  expose  it  to  the  dan- 
gers of  the  sea,  and  of  capture  by  the  British  ships,  then  cover- 
ing the  ocean.     I  saw,  too,  that  the  laboring  oar  was  really  at 
home,  where  much  was  to  be  done,  of  the  most  permanent  in- 
terest, in  new  modelling  our  governments,  and  much  to  defend 
our  fanes  and  fire-sides  from  the  desolations  of  an  invading  enemy, 
pressing  on  our  country  in  every  point.     I  declined,  therefore, 
and  Dr.  Lee  was  appointed  in  my  place.     On  the  15th  of  June, 
1781,  I  had  been  appointed,  with  Mr.  Adams,  Dr.  Franklin,  Mr. 
Jay,  and  Mr.  Laurens,  a  Minister  Plenipotentiary  for  negotiating 
peace,  then  expected  to  be  effected  through  the  mediation  of  the 
Empress  of  Russia.     The  same  reasons  obliged  me  still  to  de- 
cline ;  and  the  negotiation  was  in  fact  never  entered  on.     But, 
in  the  autumn  of  the  next  year,  1782,  Congress  receiving  assur- 
ances that  a  general  peace  would  be  concluded  in  the  winter  and 
spring,  they  renewed  my  appointment  on  the  13th  of  November 
of  that  year.     I  had,  two  months  before  that,  lost  the  cherished 
companion  of  my  life,  in  whose  affections,  unabated  on  both 
sides,  I  had  lived  the  last  ten  years  in  unchequered  happiness. 
With  the  public  interests,  the  state  of  my  mind  concurred  in  re- 
commending the  change  of  scene  proposed  ;  and  I  accepted  the 
appointment,  and  left  Monticello  on  the  19th  of  December,  1782, 
for  Philadelphia,  where  I  arrived  on  the  27th.     The  Minister  of 
France,  Luzerne,  offered  me  a  passage  in  the  Romulus  frigate, 
which  I  accepting  ;  but  she  was  then  lying  a  few  miles  below 
Baltimore,  blocked  up  in  the  ice.     I  remained,  therefore,  a  month 
in  Philadelphia,  looking  over  the  papers  in  the  office  of  State,  in 
order  to  possess  myself  of  the  general  state  of  our  foreign  rela- 
tions, and  then  went  to  Baltimore,  to  await  the  liberation  of  the 

*  His  ostensible  character  was  to  be  that  of  a  merchant,  his  real  one  that  of  agent 
for  military  supplies,  and  also  for  sounding  the  dispositions  of  the  government  of 
France,  and  seeing  how  far  they  would  favor  us,  either  secretly  or  openly.  His  ap- 
pointment had  been  by  the  Committee  of  foreign  correspondence,  March,  1776. 


52  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

frigate  from  the  ice.  After  waiting  there  nearly  a  month,  we  re- 
ceived information  that  a  Provisional  treaty  ot  peace  had  been 
signed  by  our  Commissioners  on  the  3d  of  September,  1782,  to 
become  absolute,  on  the  conclusion  of  peace  between  France  and 
Great  Britain.  Considering  my  proceeding  to  Europe  as  now  of 
no  utility  to  the  public,  I  returned  immediately  to  Philadelphia,  to 
take  the  orders  of  Congress,  and  was  excused  by  them  from  fur- 
ther proceeding.  I,  therefore,  returned  home,  where  I  arrived  on 
the  15th  of  May,  1783. 

On  the  6th  of  the  following  month,  I  was  appointed  by  the 
legislature  a  delegate  to  Congress,  the  appointment  to  take  place 
on  the  1st  of  November  ensuing,  when  that  of  the  existing  dele- 
gation would  expire.  I,  accordingly,  left  home  on  the  16th  of  Oc- 
tober, arrived  at  Trenton,  where  Congress  was  sitting,  on  the  3d 
of  November,  and  took  my  seat  on  the  4th,  on  which  day  Con- 
gress adjourned,  to  meet  at  Annapolis  on  the  26th. 

Congress  had  now  become  a  very  small  body,  and  the  mem- 
bers very  remiss  in  their  attendance  on  its  duties,  insomuch,  that 
a  majority  of  the  States,  necessary  by  the  Confederation  to  con- 
stitute a  House  even  for  minor  business,  did  not  assemble  until 
the  13th  of  December. 

They,  as  early  as  January  7, 1782,  had  turned  their  attention  to 
the  moneys  current  in  the  several  States,  and  had  directed  the  Fi- 
nancier, Robert  Morris,  to  report  to  them  a  table  of  rates,  at  which 
the  foreign  coins  should  be  received  at  the  treasury.  That  officer, 
or  rather  his  assistant,  Gouverneur  Morris,  answered  them  on  the 
15th,  in  an  able  and  elaborate  statement  of  the  denominations  of 
money  current  in  the  several  States,  and  of  the  comparative  value  of 
the  foreign  coins  chiefly  in  circulation  with  us.  He  went  into  the 
consideration  of  the  necessity  of  establishing  a  standard  of  value 
with  us,  and  of  the  adoption  of  a  money  Unit.  He  proposed  for 
that  Uni';,  such  a  fraction  of  pure  silver  as  would  be  a  common 
measure  of  the  penny  of  every  State,  without  leaving  a  fraction. 
This  common  divisor  he  found  to  be  1-1440  of  a  dollar,  or 
1-1600  of  the  crown  sterling.  The  value  of  a  dollar  was, 
therefore,  to  be  expressed  by  1,440  units,  and  of  a  crown  by 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  53 

1,600  ;  each  Unit  containing  a  quarter  of  a  grain  of  fine  silver. 
Congress  turning  again  their  attention  to  this  subject  the  follow- 
ing year,  the  Financier,  by  a  letter  of  April  30,  1783,  further  ex- 
plained and  urged  the  Unit  he  had  proposed ;  but  nothing  more 
was  done  on  it  until  the  ensuing  year,  when  it  was  again  taken 
up,  and  referred  to  a  committee,  of  which  I  was  a  member.  The 
general  views  of  the  Financier  were  sound,  and  the  principle  was 
ingenious  on  which  he  proposed  to  found  his  Unit ;  but  it  was 
too  minute  for  ordinary  use,  too  laborious  for  computation,  either 
by  the  head  or  in  figures.  The  price  of  a  loaf  of  bread,  1-20  of 
a  dollar,  would  be  72  units. 

A  pound  of  butter,  1-5  of  a  dollar,  288  units. 

A  horse  or  bullock,  of  eighty  dollars  value,  would  require  a  no- 
tation of  six  figures,  to  wit,  115,200,  and  the  public  debt,  suppose 
of  eighty  millions,  would  require  twelve  figures,  to  wit,  115,200,- 
000,000  units.  Such  a  system  of  money-arithmetic  would  be 
entirely  unmanageable  for  the  common  purposes  of  society.  I 
proposed,  therefore,  instead  of  this,  to  adopt  the  Dollar  as  our  Unit 
of  account  and  payment,  and  that  its  divisions  and  sub-divisions 
should  be  in  the  decimal  ratio.  I  wrote  some  Notes  on  the  sub 
ject,  which  I  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the  Financier.  I 
received  his  answer  and  adherence  to  his  general  system,  only 
agreeing  to  take  for  his  Unit  one  hundred  of  those  he  first  pro- 
posed, so  that  a  Dollar  should  be  14  40-100,  and  a  crown  16 
units.  I  replied  to  this,  and  printed  my  notes  and  reply  on  a 
flying  sheet,  which  I  put  into  the  hands  of  the  members  of  Con- 
gress for  consideration,  and  the  Committee  agreed  to  report  on  my 
principle.  This  was  adopted  the  ensuing  year,  and  is  the  system 
which  now  prevails.  I  insert,  here,  the  Notes  and  Reply,  as 
showing  the  different  views  on  which  the  adoption  of  our  money 
system  hung.*  The  divisions  into  dimes,  cents,  and  mills  is 
now  so  well  understood,  that  it  would  be  easy  of  introduction 
into  the  kindred  branches  of  weights  and  measures.  I  use,  when 
I  travel,  an  Odometer  of  Clarke's  invention,  which  divides  the 
mile  into  cents,  and  I  find  every  one  comprehends  a  distance 

[*  See  Appendix,  note  F.] 


54  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

readily,  when  stated  to  him  in  miles  and  cents  ;  so  he  would  in 
feet  and  cents,  pounds  and  cents,  &c. 

The  remissness  of  Congress,  and  their  permanent  session,  be- 
gan to  be  a  subject  of  uneasiness  ;  and  even  some  of  the  legisla- 
tures had  recommended  to  them  intermissions,  and  periodical 
sessions.  As  the  Confederation  had  made  no  provision  for  a  visi- 
ble head  of  the  government,  during  vacations  of  Congress,  and 
such  a  one  was  necessary  to  superintend  the  executive  business, 
to  receive  and  communicate  with  foreign  ministers  and  nations, 
and  to  assemble  Congress  on  sudden  and  extraordinary  emergen- 
cies, I  proposed,  early  in  April,  the  appointment  of  a  committee, 
to  be  called  the  "  Committee  of  the  States,"  to  consist  of  a  mem- 
ber from  each  State,  who  should  remain  in  session  during  the 
recess  of  Congress  :  that  the  functions  of  Congress  should  be  di- 
vided into  executive  and  legislative,  the  latter  to  be  reserved,  and 
the  former,  by  a  general  resolution,  to  be  delegated  to  that  Com- 
mittee. This  proposition  was  afterwards  agreed  to  ;  a  Committee 
appointed,  who  entered  on  duty  on  the  subsequent  adjournment 
of  Congress,  quarrelled  very  soon,  split  into  two  parties,  aban- 
doned their  post,  and  left  the  government  without  any  visible 
head,  until  the  next  meeting  in  Congress.  We  have  since  seen 
the  same  thing  take  place  in  the  Directory  of  France  ;  and  I 
believe  it  will  forever  take  place  in  any  Executive  consisting  of 
a  plurality.  Our  plan,  best,  I  believe,  combines  wisdom  and 
practicability,  by  providing  a  plurality  of  Counsellors,  but  a  sin- 
gle Arbiter  for  ultimate  decision.  I  was  in  France  when  we 
heard  of  this  schism,  and  separation  of  our  Committee,  and, 
speaking  with  Dr.  Franklin  of  this  singular  disposition  of  men  to 
quarrel,  and  divide  into  parties,  he  gave  his  sentiments,  as  usual, 
by  way  of  Apologue.  He  mentioned  the  Eddystone  light- 
house, in  the  British  channel,  as  being  built  on  a  rock,  in  the 
mid-channel,  totally  inaccessible  in  winter,  from  the  boisterous 
character  of  that  sea,  in  that  season  ;  that,  therefore,  for  the  two 
keepers  employed  to  keep  up  the  lights,  all  provisions  for  the 
winter  were  necessarily  carried  to  them  in  autumn,  as  they  could 
never  be  visited  again  till  the  return  of  the  milder  season  ;  that, 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  55 

on  the  first  practicable  day  in  the  spring,  a  boat  put  off  to  them 
with  fresh  supplies.  The  boatmen  met  at  the  door  one  of  the 
keepers,  and  accosted  him  with  a  "  How  goes  it,  friend  ?  Very 
well.  How  is  your  companion  ?  I  do  not  know.  Don't  know  ? 
Is  not  he  here  ?  I  can't  tell.  Have  not  you  seen  him  to-day  ? 
No.  When  did  you  see  him  ?  Not  since  last  fall.  You  have 
killed  him  ?  Not  I,  indeed."  They  were  about  to  lay  hold  of 
him,  as  having  certainly  murdered  his  companion  ;  but  he  de- 
sired them  to  go  up  stairs  and  examine  for  themselves.  They 
went  up,  and  there  found  the  other  keeper.  They  had  quarrel- 
led, it  seems,  soon  after  being  left  there,  had  divided  into  two 
parties,  assigned  the  cares  below  to  one,  and  those  above  to  the 
other,  and  had  never  spoken  to,  or  seen,  one  another  since. 

But  to  return  to  our  Congress  at  Annapolis.  The  definitive 
treaty  of  peace  which  had  been  signed  at  Paris  on  the  3d  of 
September,  1783,  and  received  here,  could  not  be  ratified  without 
a  House  of  nine  States.  On  the  23d  of  December,  therefore,  we 
addressed  letters  to  the  several  Governors,  stating  the  receipt  of 
the  definitive  treaty ;  that  seven  States  only  were  in  attendance, 
while  nine  were  necessary  to  its  ratification ;  and  urging  them  to 
press  on  their  delegates  the  necessity  of  their  immediate  attend- 
ance. And  on  the  26th,  to  save  time,  I  moved  that  the  Agent 
of  Marine  (Robert  Morris)  should  be  instructed  to  have  ready  a 
vessel  at  this  place,  at  New  York,  and  at  some  Eastern  port,  to 
carry  over  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  when  agreed  to.  It  met 
the  general  sense  of  the  House,  but  was  opposed  by  Dr.  Lee,  on 
the  ground  of  expense,  which  it  would  authorize  the  Agent  to 
incur  for  us ;  and,  he  said,  it  would  be  better  to  ratify  at  once, 
and  send  on  the  ratification.  Some  members  had  before  sug- 
gested, that  seven  States  were  competent  to  the  ratification.  My 
motion  was  therefore  postponed,  and  another  brought  forward  by 
Mr.  Read,  of  South  Carolina,  for  an  immediate  ratification.  This 
was  debated  the  26th  and  27th.  Reed,  Lee,  Williamson  and 
Jeremiah  Chase,  urged  that  ratification  was  a  mere  matter  of 
form,  that  the  treaty  was  conclusive  from  the  moment  it  was 
signed  by  the  ministers;  that,  although  the  Confederation  re- 


56  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

quires  the  assent  of  nine  States  to  enter  into  a  treaty,  yet,  that  its 
conclusion  could  not  be  called  entrance  into  it ;  that  supposing 
nine  States  requisite,  it  would  be  in  the  power  of  five  States  to 
keep  us  always  at  war ;  that  nine  States  had  virtually  authorized 
the  ratification,  having  ratified  the  provisional  treaty,  and  in- 
structed their  ministers  to  agree  to  a  definitive  one  in  the  same 
terms,  and  the  present  one  was,  in  fact,  substantially,  and  almost 
verbatim,  the  same ;  that  there  now  remain  but  sixty-seven  days 
for  the  ratification,  for  its  passage  across  the  Atlantic,  and  its  ex- 
change ;  that  there  was  no  hope  of  our  soon  having  nine  States 
present ;  in  fact,  that  this  was  the  ultimate  point  of  time  to  which 
we  could  venture  to  wait ;  that  if  the  ratification  was  not  in  Paris 
by  the  time  stipulated,  the  treaty  would  become  void  ;  that  if 
ratified  by  seven  States,  it  would  go  under  our  seal,  without  its 
being  known  to  Great  Britain  that  only  seven  had  concurred  ;  that 
it  was  a  question  of  which  they  had  no  right  to  take  cognizance, 
and  we  were  only  answerable  for  it  to  our  constituents ;  that  it 
was  like  the  ratification  which  Great  Britain  had  received  from 
the  Dutch,  by  the  negotiations  of  Sir  William  Temple. 

On  the  contrary,  it  was  argued  by  Monroe,  Gerry,  Howel, 
Ellery  and  myself,  that  by  the  modern  usage  of  Europe,  the  rati- 
fication was  considered  as  the  act  which  gave  validity  to  a  treaty, 
until  which,  it  was  not  obligatory.*  That  the  commission  to  the 
ministers  reserved  the  ratification  to  Congress ;  that  the  treaty  it- 
self stipulated  that  it  should  be  ratified ;  that  it  became  a  second 
question,  who  were  competent  to  the  ratification  ?  That  the  Con- 
federation expressly  required  nine  States  to  enter  into  any  treaty ; 
that,  by  this,  that  instrument  must  have  intended,  that  the  assent 
of  nine  States  should  be  necessary,  as  well  to  the  completion  as 
to  the  commencement  of  the  treaty,  its  object  having  been  to 
guard  the  rights  of  the  Union  in  all  those  important  cases  where 
nine  States  are  called  for ;  that  by  the  contrary  construction, 
seven  States,  containing  less  than  one-third  of  our  whole  citizens, 
might  rivet  on  us  a  treaty,  commenced  indeed  under  commission 
and  instructions  from  nine  States,  but  formed  by  the  minister  in 

*  Vattel  L.  2,  §  156.  L.  4,  §  77.  1.  Mably  Droit  D'Europe,  86. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  57 

express  contradiction  to  such  instructions,  and  in  direct  sacrifice 
of  the  interests  of  so  great  a  majority ;  that  the  definitive  treaty 
was  admitted  not  to  be  a  verbal  copy  of  the  provisional  one,  and 
whether  the  departures  from  it  were  of  substance,  or  not,  was  a 
question  on  which  nine  States  alone  were  competent  to  decide ; 
that  the  circumstances  of  the  ratification  of  the  provisional  arti- 
cles by  nine  States,  the  instructions  to  our  ministers  to  form  a 
definitive  one  by  them,  and  their  actual  agreement  in  substance, 
do  not  render  us  competent  to  ratify  in  the  present  instance ;  if 
these  circumstances  are  in  themselves  a  ratification,  nothing 
further  is  requisite  than  to  give  attested  copies  of  them,  in  ex- 
change for  the  British  ratification  ;  if  they  are  not,  we  remain 
where  we  were,  without  a  ratification  by  nine  States,  and  incom- 
petent ourselves  to  ratify ;  that  it  was  but  four  days  since  the 
seven  States,  now  present,  unanimously  concurred  in  a  resolution, 
to  be  forwarded  to  the  Governors  of  the  absent  States,  in  which 
they  stated,  as  a  cause  for  urging  on  their  delegates,  that  nine 
States  were  necessary  to  ratify  the  treaty ;  that  in  the  case  of  the 
Dutch  ratification,  Great  Britain  had  courted  it,  and  therefore  was 
glad  to  accept  it  as  it  was ;  that  they  knew  our  Constitution,  and 
would  object  to  a  ratification  by  seven  ;  that,  if  that  circumstance 
was  kept  back,  it  would  be  known  hereafter,  and  would  give 
them  ground  to  deny  the  validity  of  a  ratification,  into  which 
they  should  have  been  surprised  and  cheated,  and  it  would  be  a 
dishonorable  prostitution  of  our  seal ;  that  there  is  a  hope  of  nine 
States  ;  that  if  the  treaty  would  become  null,  if  not  ratified  in 
time,  it  would  not  be  saved  by  an  imperfect  ratification  ;  but  that, 
in  fact,  it  would  not  be  null,  and  would  be  placed  on  better 
ground,  going  in  unexceptionable  form,  though  a  few  days  too 
late,  and  rested  on  the  small  importance  of  this  circumstance,  and 
the  physical  impossibilities  which  had  prevented  a  punctual  com- 
pliance in  point  of  time  ;  that  this  would  be  approved  by  all  na- 
tions, and  by  Great  Britain  herself,  if  not  determined  to  renew 
tne  war,  and  if  so  determined,  she  would  never  want  excuses^ 
were  this  out  of  the  way.  Mr.  Read  gave  notice,  he  should  call 
for  the  yeas  and  nays  ;  whereon  those  in  opposition,  prepared  a 


58  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

resolution,  expressing  pointedly  the  reasons  of  their  dissent  from 
his  motion.  It  appearing,  however,  that  his  proposition  could 
not  he  carried,  it  was  thought  hetter  to  make  no  entry  at  all. 
Massachusetts  alone  would  have  heen  for  it ;  Rhode  Island, 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  against  it,  Delaware,  Maryland  and 
North  Carolina,  would  have  heen  divided. 

Our  body  was  little  numerous,  but  very  contentious.  Day 
after  day  was  wasted  on  the  most  unimportant  questions.  A  mem- 
ber, one  of  those  afflicted  with  the  morbid  rage  of  debate,  of  an 
ardent  mind,  prompt  imagination,  and  copious  flow  of  words,  who 
heard  with  impatience  any  logic  which  was  not  his  own,  sitting 
near  me  on  some  occasion  of  a  trifling  but  wordy  debate,  asked 
me  how  I  could  sit  in  silence,  hearing  so  much  false  reasoning, 
which  a  word  should  refute  ?  I  observed  to  him,  that  to  refute 
indeed  was  easy,  but  to  silence  was  impossible  ;  that  in  measures 
brought  forward  by  myself,  I  took  the  laboring  oar,  as  was  in- 
cumbent on  me  ;  but  that  in  general,  I  was  willing  to  listen  ;  that 
if  every  sound  argument  or  objection  was  used  by  some  one  or 
other  of  the  numerous  debaters,  it  was  enough  ;  if  not,  I  thought 
it  sufficient  to  suggest  the  omission,  without  going  into  a  repeti- 
tion of  what  had  been  already  said  by  others  :  that  this  was  a 
waste  and  abuse  of  the  time  and  patience  of  the  House,  which 
could  not  be  justified.  And  I  believe,  that  if  the  members  of  de- 
liberate bodies  were  to  observe  this  course  generally,  they  would 
do  in  a  day,  what  takes  them  a  week  ;  and  it  is  really  more  ques- 
tionable, than  may  at  first  be  thought,  whether  Bonaparte's  dumb 
legislature,  which  said  nothing,  and  did  much,  may  not  be  prefer- 
able to  one  which  talks  much,  and  does  nothing.  I  served  with 
General  Washington  in  the  legislature  of  Virginia,  before  the 
revolution,  and,  during  it,  with  Dr.  Franklin  in  Congress.  I  never 
heard  either  of  them  speak  ten  minutes  at  a  time,  nor  to  any  but 
the  main  point,  which  was  to  decide  the  question.  They  laid 
their  shoulders  to  the  great  points,  knowing  that  the  little  ones 
would  follow  of  themselves.  If  the  present  Congress  errs  in  too 
much  talking,  how  can  it  be  otherwise,  in  a  body  to  which  the 
people  send  one  hundred  and  fifty  lawyers,  whose  trade  it  is  to 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  59 

question  everything,  yield  nothing,  and  talk  by  the  hour  ?  That 
one  hundred  and  fifty  lawyers  should  do  business  together,  ought 
ncl  to  be  expected.  But  to  return  again  to  our  subject. 

Those  who  thought  seven  States  competent  to  the  ratification, 
being  very  restless  under  the  loss  of  their  motion,  I  proposed,  on 
the  third  of  January,  to  meet  them  on  middle  ground,  and  there- 
fore moved  a  resolution,  which  premised,  that  there  were  but 
seven  States  present,  who  were  unanimous  for  the  ratification,  but 
that  they  differed  in  opinion  on  the  question  of  competency  ;  that 
those  however  in  the  negative  were  unwilling  that  any  powers 
which  it  might  be  supposed  they  possessed,  should  remain  unex- 
ercised  for  the  restoration  of  peace,  provided  it  could  be  done, 
saving  their  good  faith,  and  without  importing  any  opinion  of 
Congress,  that  seven  States  were  competent,  and  resolving  that 
the  treaty  be  ratified  so  far  as  they  had  power ;  that  it  should  be 
transmitted  to  our  ministers,  with  instructions  to  keep  it  uncom- 
municated ;  to  endeavor  to  obtain  three  months  longer  for  ex- 
change of  ratifications;  that  they  should  be  informed,  that  so 
soon  as  nine  States  shall  be  present,  a  ratification  by  nine  shall 
be  sent  them  :  if  this  should  get  to  them  before  the  ultimate  point 
of  time  for  exchange,  they  were  to  use  it,  and  not  the  other ;  if 
not,  they  were  to  offer  the  act  of  the  seven  States  in  exchange, 
informing  them  the  treaty  had  come  to  hand  while  Congress  was 
not  in  session  ;  that  but  seven  States  were  as  yet  assembled,  and 
these  had  unanimously  concurred  in  the  ratification.  This  was 
debated  on  the  third  and  fourth ;  and  on  the  fifth,  a  vessel  being 
to  sail  for  England,  from  this  port  (Annapolis),  the  House  di- 
rected the  President  to  write  to  our  ministers  accordingly. 

January  14.  Delegates  from  Connecticut  having  attended  yes- 
terday, and  another  from  South  Carolina  coming  in  this  day,  the 
treaty  was  ratified  without  a  dissenting  voice  ;  and  three  instru- 
ments of  ratification  were  ordered  to  be  made  out,  one  of  which 
was  sent  by  Colonel  Harmer,  another  by  Colonel  Franks,  and  the 
third  transmitted  to  the  Agent  of  Marine,  to  be  forwarded  by  any 
good  opportunity. 

Congress  soon  took  up  the  consideration  of  their  foreign  rela 


60  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

tions.  They  deemed  it  necessary  to  get  their  commerce  placed 
with  every  nation,  on  a  footing  as  favorable  as  that  of  other  na- 
tions ;  and  for  this  purpose,  to  propose  to  each  a  distinct  treaty 
of  commerce.  This  act  too  would  amount  to  an  acknowledg- 
ment, hy  each,  of  our  independence,  and  of  our  reception  into  the 
fraternity  of  nations ;  which,  although  as  possessing  our  station 
of  ris;ht,  and  in  fact  we  would  not  condescend  to  ask,  we  were 

o         /  ' 

not  unwilling  to  furnish  opportunities  for  receiving  their  friendly 
salutations  and  welcome.  With  France,  the  United  Netherlands, 
and  Sweden,  we  had  already  treaties  of  commerce  ;  but  commis- 
sions were  given  for  those  countries  also,  should  any  amendments 
be  thought  necessary.  The  other  States  to  which  treaties  were 
to  be  proposed,  were  England,  Hamburg,  Saxony,  Prussia,  Den- 
mark, Russia,  Austria,  Venice,  Rome,  Naples,  Tuscany,  Sardinia, 
Genoa,  Spain,  Portugal,  the  Porte,  Algiers,  Tripoli,  Tunis,  and 
Morocco. 

On  the  7th  of  May  Congress  resolved  that  a  Minister  Plenipo- 
tentiary should  be  appointed,  in  addition  to  Mr.  Adams  and  Dr. 
Franklin,  for  negotiating  treaties  of  commerce  with  foreign  na- 
tions, and  I  was  elected  to  that  duty.  I  accordingly  left  An- 
napolis on  the  llth,  took  with  me  my  eldest  daughter,  then  at 
Philadelphia  (the  two  others  being  too  young  for  the  voyage), 
and  proceeded  to  Boston,  in  quest  of  a  passage.  While  passing 
through  the  different  States,  I  made  a  point  of  informing  myself 
of  the  state  of  the  commerce  of  each ;  went  on  to  New  Hamp- 
shire with  the  same  view,  and  returned  to  Boston.  Thence  I 
sailed  on  the  5th  of  July,  in  the  Ceres,  a  merchant  ship  of  Mr. 
Nathaniel  Tracey,  bound  to  Cowes.  He  was  himself  a  passen- 
ger, and,  after  a  pleasant  voyage  of  nineteen  days,  from  land  to 
land,  we  arrived  at  Cowes  on  the  26th.  I  was  detained  there  a 
few  days  by  the  indisposition  of  my  daughter.  On  the  30th,  we 
embarked  for  Havre,  arrived  there  on  the  31st,  left  it  on  the  3d 
of  August,  and  arrived  at  Paris  on  the  6th.  I  called  immediately 
on  Dr.  Franklin,  at  Passy,  communicated  to  him  our  charge, 
and  we  wrote  to  Mr.  Adams,  then  at  the  Hague,  to  join  us  at 
Paris. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  61 

Before  I  had  left  America,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  year  1781, 1 
had  received  a  letter  from  M.  de  Marbois,  of  the  French  legation 
in  Philadelphia,  informing  me,  he  had  been  instructed  by  his  gov- 
ernment to  obtain  such  statistical  accounts  of  the  different  States 
of  our  Union,  as  might  be  useful  for  their  information  ;  and  address- 
ing to  me  a  number  of  queries  relative  to  the  State  of  Virginia. 
I  had  always  made  it  a  practice,  whenever  an  opportunity  occur- 
red of  obtaining  any  information  of  our  country,  which  might  be 
of  use  to  me  in  any  station,  public  or  private,  to  commit  it  to 
writing.  These  memoranda  were  on  loose  papers,  bundled  up 
without  order,  and  difficult  of  recurrence,  when  I  had  occasion  x~ 
for  a  particular  one.  I  thought  this  a  good  occasion  to  embody  / 
their  substance,  which  I  did  in  the  order  of  Mr.  Marbois'  queries, 
so  as  to  answer  his  wish,  and  to  arrange  them  for  my  own  use. 
Some  friends,  to  whom  they  were  occasionally  communicated, 
wished  for  copies ;  but  their  volume  rendering  this  too  laborious 
by  hand,  I  proposed  to  get  a  few  printed,  for  their  gratification. 
I  was  asked  such  a  price,  however,  as  exceeded  the  importance 
of  the  object.  On  my  arrival  at  Paris,  I  found  it  could  be  done 
for  a  fourth  of  what  I  had  been  asked  here.  I  therefore  cor- 
rected and  enlarged  them,  and  had  two  hundred  copies  printed, 
under  the  title  of  "  Notes  on  Virginia."  I  gave  a  very  few  copies 
to  some  particular  friends  in  Europe,  and  sent  the  rest  to  my 
friends  in  America.  An  European  copy,  by  the  death  of  the 
owner,  got  into  the  hands  of  a  bookseller,  who  engaged  its  trans- 
lation, and  when  ready  for  the  press,  communicated  his  intentions 
and  manuscript  to  me,  suggesting  that  I  should  correct  it,  with- 
out asking  any  other  permission  for  the  publication.  I  never  had 
seen  so  wretched  an  attempt  at  translation.  Interverted,  abridged, 
mutilated,  and  often  reversing  the  sense  of  the  original,  I  found 
it  a  blotch  of  errors,  from  beginning  to  end.  I  corrected  some  of 
the  most  material,  and,  in  that  form,  it  was  printed  in  French. 
A  London  bookseller,  on  seeing  the  translation,  requested  me  to 
permit  him  to  print  the  English  original.  I  thought  it  best  to  do 
so,  to  let  the  world  see  that  it  was  not  really  so  bad  as  the  French 


62  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

translation  had  made  it  appear.  And  this  is  the  true  history  of 
that  publication. 

Mr.  Adams  soon  joined  us  at  Paris,  and  our  first  employment 
was  to  prepare  a  general  form,  to  be  proposed  to  such  nations  as 
were  disposed  to  treat  with  us.  During  the  negotiations  for  peace 
with  the  British  Commissioner,  David  Hartley,  our  Commissioners 
had  proposed,  on  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Frankin,  to  insert  an  arti- 
cle, exempting  from  capture  by  the  public  or  private  armed  ships, 
of  either  belligerent,  when  at  war,  all  merchant  vessels  and  their 
cargoes,  employed  merely  in  carrying  on  the  commerce  between 
nations.  It  was  refused  by  England,  and  unwisely,  in  my  opinion. 
For,  in  the  case  of  a  war  with  us,  their  superior  commerce  places 
infinitely  more  at  hazard  on  the  ocean,  than  ours  ;  and,  as  hawks 
abound  in  proportion  to  game,  so  our  privateers  would  swarm,  in 
proportion  to  the  wealth  exposed  to  their  prize,  while  theirs  would 
be  few,  for  want  of  subjects  of  capture.  We  inserted  this  article 
in  our  form,  with  a  provision  against  the  molestation  of  fishermen, 
husbandmen,  citizens  unarmed,  and  following  their  occupations  in 
unfortified  places,  for  the  humane  treatment  of  prisoners  of  war, 
the  abolition  of  contraband  of  war,  which  exposes  merchant  ves- 
sels to  such  vexatious  and  ruinous  detentions  and  abuses ;  and  for 
the  principle  of  free  bottoms,  free  goods. 

In  a  conference  with  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  it  was  thought 
better  to  leave  to  legislative  regulation,  on  both  sides,  such  modi- 
fications of  our  commercial  intercourse,  as  would  voluntarily  flow 
from  amicable  dispositions.  Without  urging,  we  sounded  the 
ministers  of  the  several  European  nations,  at  the  court  of  Ver- 
sailles, on  their  dispositions  towards  mutual  commerce,  and  the 
expediency  of  encouraging  it  by  the  protection  of  a  treaty.  Old 
Frederic,  of  Prussia,  met  us  cordially,  and  without  hesitation,  and 
appointing  the  Baron  de  Thulemeyer,  his  minister  at  the  Hague, 
to  negotiate  with  us,  we  communicated  to  him  our  Projct,  which, 
with  little  alteration  by  the  King,  was  soon  concluded.  Den- 
mark and  Tuscany,  entered  also  into  negotiations  with  us.  Other 
powers  appearing  indifferent ;  we  did  not  think  it  proper  to  press 
them.  They  seemed,  in  fact,  to  know  little  about  us,  but  as 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  63 

rebels,  who  had  been  successful  in  throwing  oft*  the  yoke  of  the 
mother  country.  They  were  ignorant  of  our  commerce,  which 
had  been  always  monopolized  by  England,  and  of  the  exchange 
of  articles  it  might  offer  advantageously  to  both  parties.  They 
were  inclined,  therefore,  to  stand  aloof,  until  they  could  see  bet- 
ter what  relations  might  be  usefully  instituted  with  us.  The 
negotiations,  therefore,  begun  with  Denmark  and  Tuscany,  we 
protracted  designedly,  until  our  powers  had  expired  ;  and  ab- 
stained from  making  new  propositions  to  others  having  no  colo- 
nies;, because  our  commerce  being  an  exchange  of  raw  for 
wrought  materials,  is  a  competent  price  for  admission  into  the 
colonies  of  those  possessing  them ;  but  were  we  to  give  it,  with- 
out price,  to  others,  all  would  claim  it,  without  price,  on  the  or- 
dinary ground  of  gentis  amicissimce. 

Mr.  Adams  being  appointed  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the 
United  States,  to  London,  left  us  in  June,  and  in  July,  1785,  Dr. 
Franklin  returned  to  America,  and  I  was  appointed  his  successor 
at  Paris.  In  February,  1786,  Mr.  Adams  wrote  to  me,  pressingly, 
to  join  him  in  London  immediately,  as  he  thought  he  discovered 
there  some  symptoms  of  better  disposition  towards  us.  Colonel 
Smith,  his  secretary  of  legation,  was  the  bearer  of  his  urgencies 
for  my  immediate  attendance.  I,  accordingly,  left  Paris  on  the 
1st  of  March,  and,  on  my  arrival  in  London,  we  agreed  on  a  very 
summary  form  of  treaty,  proposing  an  exchange  of  citizenship  for 
our  citizens,  our  ships,  and  our  productions  generally,  except  as  to 
office.  On  my  presentation,  as  usual,  to  the  King  and  Queen,  at 
their  levees,  it  was  impossible  for  anything  to  be  more  ungracious, 
than  their  notice  of  Mr.  Adams  and  myself.  I  saw,  at  once,  that 
the  ulcerations  of  mind  in  that  quarter,  left  nothing  to  be  expected 
on  the  subject  of  my  attendance ;  and,  on  the  first  conference 
with  the  Marquis  of  Caermarthen,  the  Minister  for  foreign  affairs, 
the  distance  and  disinclination  which  he  betrayed  in  his  conver- 
sation, the  vagueness  and  evasions  of  his  answers  to  us,  con- 
firmed me  in  the  belief  of  their  aversion  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  us.  We  delivered  him,  however,  our  Proj^t,  Mr.  Adams  not 
despairing  as  much  as  I  did,  of  its  effect.  We  afterwards,  by  one 


64  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

or  more  notes,  requested  his  appointment  of  an  interview  and 
conference,  which,  without  directly  declining,  he  evaded,  by  pre- 
tences of  other  pressing  occupations  for  the  moment.  After 
staying  there  seven  weeks,  till  within  a  few  days  of  the  expira- 
tion of  our  commission,  I  informed  the  minister,  "by  note,  that 
my  duties  at  Paris  required  my  return  to  that  place,  and  that  I 
should,  with  pleasure,  be  the  bearer  of  any  commands  to  his  Am- 
bassador there.  He  answered,  that  he  had  none,  and,  wishing 
me  a  pleasant  journey,  I  left  London  the  26th,  and  arrived  at 
Paris  the  30th  of  April. 

While  in  London,  we  entered  into  negotiations  with  the  Chev- 
alier Pinto,  Ambassador  of  Portugal,  at  that  place.  The  only  ar- 
ticle of  difficulty  between  us  was,  a  stipulation  that  our  bread 
stuff  should  be  received  in  Portugal^  in  the  form  of  flour  as  well 
as  of  grain.  He  approved  of  it  himself,  but  observed  that  several 
Nobles,  of  great  influence  at  their  court,  were  the  owners  of 
wind-mills  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lisbon,  which  depended  much 
for  their  profits  on  manufacturing  our  wheat,  and  that  this  stipu- 
lation would  endanger  the  whole  treaty.  He  signed  it,  however, 
and  its  fate  was  what  he  had  candidly  portended. 

My  duties,  at  Paris,  were  confined  to  a  few  objects ;  the  re- 
ceipt of  our  whale-oils,  salted  fish,  and  salted  meats,  on  favorable 
terms ;  the  admission  of  our  rice  on  equal  terms  with  that  of 
Piedmont,  Egypt  and  the  Levant ;  a  mitigation  of  the  monopolies 
of  our  tobacco  by  the  Farmers-general,  and  a  free  admission  of 
our  productions  into  their  islands,  were  the  principal  commercial 
objects  which  required  attention  ;  and,  on  these  occasions,  I  was 
powerfully  aided  by  all  the  influence  and  the  energies  of  the 
Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  who  proved  himself  equally  zealous  for 
the  friendship  and  welfare  of  both  nations ;  and,  in  justice,  1 
must  also  say,  that  I  found  the  government  entirely  disposed  to 
befriend  us  on  all  occasions,  and  to  yield  us  every  indulgence, 
not  absolutely  injurious  to  themselves.  The  Count  de  Vergennes 
had  the  reputation,  with  the  diplomatic  corps,  of  being  wary  and 
slippery  in  his  diplomatic  intercourse  ;  and  so  he  might  be  with 
those  whom  he  knew  to  be  slippery,  and  double-faced  themselves. 


AUTOBIOGEAPHY.  65 

As  he  saw  that  I  had  no  indirect  views,  practised  no  subtleties, 
meddled  in  no  intrigues,  pursued  no  concealed  object,  I  found 
him  as  frank,  as  honorable,  as  easy  of  access  to  reason,  as  any 
man  with  whom  I  had  ever  done  business ;  and  I  must  say  the 
same  for  his  successor,  Montmorin,  one  of  the  most  honest  and 
worthy  of  human  beings. 

Our  commerce,  in  the  Mediterranean,  was  placed  under  early 
alarm,  by  the  capture  of  two  of  our  vessels  and  crews  by  the 
Barbary  cruisers.  I  was  very  unwilling  that  we  should  acquiesce 
in  the  European  humiliation,  of  paying  a  tribute  to  those  lawless 
pirates,  and  endeavored  to  form  an  association  of  the  powers  sub- 
ject to  habitual  depredations  from  them.  I  accordingly  prepared, 
and  proposed  to  their  Ministers  at  Paris,  for  consultation  with 
their  governments,  articles  of  a  special  confederation,  in  the  fol- 
lowing form  : 

"  Proposals  for  concerted  operation  among  the  powers  at  war 
with  the  piratical  States  of  Barbary. 

1.  "  It  is  proposed,  that  the  several  powers  at  war  with  the 
piratical  States  of  Barbary,  or  any  two  or  more  of  them  who  shall 
be  willing,  shall  enter  into  a  convention  to  carry  on  their  opera- 
tions against  those  States,  in  concert,  beginning  with  the  Al- 
gerines. 

2.  "  This  convention  shall  remain  open  to  any  other  powers, 
who  shall,  at  any  future  time,  wish  to  accede  to  it ;  the  parties 
reserving  the  right  to  prescribe  the  conditions  of  such  accession, 
according  to  the  circumstances  existing  at  the  time  it  shall  be 
proposed. 

3.  "  The  object  of  the  convention  shall  be,  to  compel  th« 
piratical  States  to  perpetual  peace,  without  price,  and  to  guarantee 
that  peace  to  each  other. 

4.  "  The  operations  for  obtaining  this  peace  shall  be  constant 
cruises  on  their  coast,  with  a  naval  force  now  to  be  agreed  on. 
It  is  not  proposed  that  this  force  shall  be  so  considerable  as  to 
be  inconvenient  to  any  party.     It  is  believed  that  half  a  dozen 
frigates,  with  as  many  Tenders  or  Xebecs,  one  half  of  which 
shall  be  in  cruise,  while  the  other  half  is  at  rest,  will  suffice. 

VOL.  i.  5 


66  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

5.  "  The  force  agreed  to  be  necessary,  shall  be  furnished  by  the 
parties,  in  certain  quotas,  now  to  be  fixed  ;  it  being  expected,  that 
each  will  be  willing  to  contribute,  in  such  proportion  as  circum- 
stances may  render  reasonable. 

6.  "  As  miscarriages  often  proceed  from  the  want  of  harmony 
among  officers  of  different  nations,  the  parties  shall  now  consider 
and  decide,  whether  it  will  not  be  better  to  contribute  their  quotas 
in  money,  to  be  employed  in  fitting  out  and  keeping  on  duty,  a 
single  fleet  of  the  force  agreed  on. 

7.  "  The  difficulties  and  delays,  too,  which  will  attend  the 
management  of  these   operations,  if  conducted  by  the  parties 
themselves  separately,  distant  as  their  courts  may  be  from  one  an- 
other, and  incapable  of  meeting  in  consultation,  suggest  a  ques- 
tion, whether  it  will  not  be  better  for  them  to  give  full  powers, 
for  that  purpose,  to  their  Ambassadors,  or  other  Ministers  resident 
at  some  one  court  of  Europe,  who  shall  form  a  Committee,  or 
Council,  for  carrying  this  convention  into  effect ;  wherein,  the 
vote  of  each  member  shall  be  computed  in  proportion  to  the  quota 
of  his  sovereign,  and  the  majority  so  computed,  shall  prevail  in 
all  questions  within  the  view  of  this  convention.     The  court  of 
Versailles  is  proposed,  on  account  of  its  neighborhood  to  the  Medi- 
terranean, and  because  all  those  powers  are  represented  there,  who 
are  likely  to  become  parties  to  this  convention. 

8.  "  To  save  to  that  Council  the  embarrassment  of  personal 
solicitations  for  office,  and  to  assure  the  parties  that  their  contribu- 
tions will  be  applied  solely  to  the  object  for  which  they  are  des- 
tined, there   shall  be  no  establishment  of  officers  for  the   said 
Council,  such  as  Commissioners,  Secretaries,  or  any  other  kind, 
with  either  salaries  or  perquisites,  nor  any  other  lucrative  appoint- 
ments but  such  whose  functions  are  to  be  exercised  on  board  the 
said  vessels. 

9.  "  Should  war  arise  between  any  two  of  the  parties  to  this 
convention,  it  shall  not  extend  to  this  enterprise,  nor  interrupt  it; 
but  as  to  this  they  shall  be  reputed  at  peace. 

10.  "  When  Algiers  shall  be  reduced  to  peace,  the  other  pirati- 
cal States,  u*  they  refuse  to  discontinue  their  piracies,  shall  be- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  67 

come  the  objects  of  this  convention,  either  successively  or  to- 
gether, as  shall  seem  best. 

11.  "Where  this  convention  would  interfere  with  treaties  ac- 
tually existing  between  any  of  the  parties  and  the  States  of  Bar- 
bary,  the  treaty  shall  prevail,  and  such  party  shall  be  allowed  to 
withdraw  from  the  operations  against  that  State." 

Spain  had  just  concluded  a  treaty  with  Algiers,  at  the  expense 
of  three  millions  of  dollars,  and  did  not  like  to  relinquish  the 
benefit  of  that,  until  the  other  party  should  fail  in  their  observ- 
ance of  it.  Portugal,  Naples,  the  two  Sicilies,  Venice,  Malta, 
Denmark  and  Sweden,  were  favorably  disposed  to  such  an  asso- 
ciation ;  but  their  representatives  at  Paris  expressed  apprehensions 
that  France  would  interfere,  and,  either  openly  or  secretly,  sup- 
port the  Barbary  powers ;  and  they  required,  that  I  should  ascer- 
tain the  dispositions  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes  on  the  subject. 
I  had  before  taken  occasion  to  inform  him  of  what  we  were  pro- 
posing, and,  therefore,  did  not  think  it  proper  to  insinuate  any 
doubt  of  the  fair  conduct  of  his  government;  but,  stating  our 
propositions,  I  mentioned  the  apprehensions  entertained  by  us, 
that  England  would  interfere  in  behalf  of  those  piratical  govern- 
ments. "  She  dares  not  do  it,"  said  he.  I  pressed  it  no  further. 
The  other  Agents  were  satisfied  with  this  indication  of  his  senti- 
ments, and  nothing  was  now  wanting  to  bring  it  into  direct  and 
formal  consideration,  but  the  assent  of  our  government,  and  their 
authority  to  make  the  formal  proposition.  I  communicated  to  them 
the  favorable  prospect  of  protecting  our  commerce  from  the  Barbary 
depredations,  and  for  such  a  continuance  of  time,  as,  by  an  exclu- 
sion of  them  from  the  sea,  to  change  their  habits  and  characters, 
from  a  predatory  to  an  agricultural  people :  towards  which,  how- 
ever, it  was  expected  they  would  contribute  a  frigate,  and  its 
expenses,  to  be  in  constant  cruise.  But  they  were  in  no  condition 
to  make  any  such  engagement.  Their  recommendatory  powers 
for  obtaining  contributions,  were  so  openly  neglected  by  the 
several  States,  that  they  declined  an  engagement  which  they 
were  conscious  they  could  not  fulfil  with  punctuality ;  and  so  it 
fell  through. 


68  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

*In  1786,  while  at  Paris,  I  became  acquainted  with  John  Led- 
yard,  of  Connecticut,  a  man  of  genius,  of  some  science,  and  of 
fearless  courage  and  enterprise.  He  had  accompanied  Captain 
Cook  in  his  voyage  to  the  Pacific,  had  distinguished  himself  on 
several  occasions  by  an  unrivalled  intrepidity,  and  published  an 
account  of  that  voyage,  with  details  unfavorable  to  Cook's  de- 
portment towards  the  savages,  and  lessening  our  regrets  at  his 
fate.  Ledyard  had  come  to  Paris,  in  the  hope  of  forming  a  com- 
pany to  engage  in  the  fur  trade  of  the  Western  coast  of  America. 
He  was  disappointed  in  this,  and,  being  out  of  business,  and  of  a 
roaming,  restless  character,  I  suggested  to  him  the  enterprise  of 
exploring  the  Western  part  of  our  continent,  by  passing  through 
St.  Petersburg  to  Kamschatka,  and  procuring  a  passage  thence 
in  some  of  the  Russian  vessels  to  Nootka  Sound,  whence  he  might 
make  his  way  across  the  continent  to  the  United  States  ;  and  I 
undertook  to  have  the  permission  of  the  Empress  of  Russia  so- 
licited. He  eagerly  embraced  the  proposition,  and  M.  de  Scmou- 
lin,  the  Russian  Ambassador,  and  more  particularly  Baron  Grimm, 
the  special  correspondent  of  the  Empress,  solicited  her  permission 
for  him  to  pass  through  her  dominions,  to  the  Western  coast  of 
America.  And  here  I  must  correct  a  material  error,  which  I  have 
committed  in  another  place,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Empress.  In 
writing  some  notes  of  the  life  of  Captain  Lewis,  prefixed  to  his 
"  Expedition  to  the  Pacific,"  I  stated  that  the  Empress  gave  the 
permission  asked,  and  afterwards  retracted  it.  This  idea,  after  a 
lapse  of  twenty-six  years,  had  so  insinuated  itself  into  my  mind, 
that  I  committed  it  to  paper,  without  the  least  suspicion  of  error. 
Yet  I  find,  on  recurring  to  my  letters  of  that  date,  that  the  Em- 
press refused  permission  at  once,  considering  the  enterprise  as 
entirely  chimerical.  But  Ledyard  would  not  relinquish  it,  per- 
suading himself  that,  by  proceeding  to  St.  Petersburg,  he  could 
satisfy  the  Empress  of  its  practicability,  and  obtain  her  permis- 
sion. He  went  accordingly,  but  she  was  absent  on  a  visit  to  some 

[*  In  the  original  MS.,  the  paragraph  ending  "fell  through,"  terminates  page  81 
between  this  page  and  the  next,  there  is  stitched  in,  a  leaf  of  old  writing,  constituting 
a  memorandum,  whereof  note  G.  in  the  Appendix,  is  a  copy.] 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  69 

distant  part  of  her  dominions,*  and  he  pursued  his  course  to  within 
two  hundred  miles  of  Kamschatka,  where  he  was  overtaken  by 
an  arrest  from  the  Empress,  brought  back  to  Poland,  and  there 
dismissed.  I  must  therefore,  in  justice,  acquit  the  Empress  of 
ever  having  for  a  moment  countenanced,  even  by  the  indulgence 
of  an  innocent  passage  through  her  territories,  this  interesting  en- 
terprise. 

The  pecuniary  distresses  of  France  produced  this  year  a 
measure  of  which  there  had  been  no  example  for  near  two  cen- 
turies, and  the  consequences  of  which,  good  and  evil,  are  not  yet 
calculable.  For  its  remote  causes,  we  must  go  a  little  back. 

Celebrated  writers  of  France  and  England  had  already  / 
sketched  good  principles  on  the  subject  of  government ;  yet  the 
American  Revolution  seems  first  to  have  awakened  the  thinking 
part  of  the  French  nation  in  general,  from  the  sleep  of  despotism 
in  which  they  were  sunk.  The  officers  too,  who  had  been  to 
America,  were  mostly  young  men,  less  shackled  by  habit  and 
prejudice,  and  more  ready  to  assent  to  the  suggestions  of  common 
sense,  and  feeling  of  common  rights,  than  others.  They  came 
back  with  new  ideas  and  impressions.  The  press,  notwithstand- 
ing its  shackles,  began  to  disseminate  them ;  conversation  as- 
sumed new  freedoms  ;  Politics  became  the  theme  of  all  societies,  ' 
male  and  female,  and  a  very  extensive  and  zealous  party  was 
formed,  which  acquired  the  appellation  of  the  Patriotic  party, 
who,  sensible  of  the  abusive  government  under  which  they  lived, 
sighed  for  occasions  of  reforming  it.  This  party  comprehended 
all  the  honesty  of  the  kingdom,  sufficiently  at  leisure  to  think, 
the  men  of  letters,  the  easy  Bourgeois,  the  young  nobility,  partly 
from  reflection,  partly  from  mode ;  for  these  sentiments  became 
matter  of  mode,  and  as  such,  united  most  of  the  young  women 
to  the  party.  Happily  for  the  nation,  it  happened,  at  the  same 
moment,  that  the  dissipations  of  the  Queen  and  court,  the  abuses 
of  the  pension-list,  and  dilapidations  in  the  administration  of  every 
branch  of  the  finances,  had  exhausted  the  treasures  and  credit  of 
the  nation,  insomuch  that  its  most  necessary  functions  were  par- 

*  The  Crimea. 


70  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

alyzed.  To  reform  these  abuses  would  have  overset  the  Minis- 
ter ;  to  impose  new  taxes  by  the  authority  of  the  King,  was 
known  to  be  impossible,  from  the  determined  opposition  of  the 
Parliament  to  their  enregistry.  No  resource  remained  then,  but 
to  appeal  to  the  nation.  He  advised,  therefore,  the  call  of  an  As- 
sembly of  the  most  distinguished  characters  of  the  nation,  in  the 
hope  that,  by  promises  of  various  and  valuable  improvements  in 
the  organization  and  regimen  of  the  government,  they  would  be 
induced  to  authorize  new  taxes,  to  control  the  opposition  of  the 
Parliament,  and  to  raise  the  annual  revenue  to  the  level  of  ex- 
penditures. An  Assembly  of  Notables  therefore,  about  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  in  number,  named  by  the  King,  convened  on  the 
22d  of  February.  The  Minister  (Calonne)  stated  to  them,  that 
the  annual  excess  of  expenses  beyond  the  revenue,  when  Louis 
XVI.  came  to  the  throne,  was  thirty-seven  millions  of  livres ; 
that  four  hundred  and  forty  millions  had  been  borrowed  to  re-es- 
tablish the  navy ;  that  the  American  war  had  cost  them  fourteen 
hundred  and  forty  millions  (two  hundred  and  fifty-six  millions  of 
dollars),  and  that  the  interest  of  these  sums,  with  other  increased 
expenses,  had  added  forty  millions  more  to  the  annual  deficit. 
(But  a  subsequent  and  more  candid  estimate  made  it  fifty-six 
millions.)  He  proffered  them  an  universal  redress  of  grievances, 
laid  open  those  grievances  fully,  pointed  out  sound  remedies,  and, 
covering  his  canvas  with  objects  of  this  magnitude,  the  deficit 
dwindled  to  a  little  accessory,  scarcely  attracting  attention.  The 
persons  chosen  were  the  most  able  and  independent  characters 
in  the  kingdom,  and  their  support,  if  it  could  be  obtained,  would 
be  enough  for  him.  They  improved  the  occasion  for  redressing 
their  grievances,  and  agreed  that  the  public  wants  should  be  re- 
lieved ;  but  went  into  an  examination  of  the  causes  of  them.  It 
was  supposed  that  Colonne  was  conscious  that  his  accounts  could 
not  bear  examination ;  and  it  was  said,  and  believed,  that  he 
asked  of  the  King,  to  send  four  members  to  the  Bastile,  of  whom 
the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette  was  one,  to  banish  twenty  others,  and 
two  of  his  Ministers.  The  King  found  it  shorter  to  banish  him. 
His  successor  went  on  in  full  concert  with  the  Assembly.  The 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  71 

result  was  an  augmentation  of  the  revenue,  a  promise  of  econo- 
mies in  its  expenditure,  of  an  annual  settlement  of  the  public  ac- 
counts before  a  council,  which  the  Comptroller,  having  been 
heretofore  obliged  to  settle  only  with  the  King  in  person,  of  course 
never  settled  at  all ;  an  acknowledgment  that  the  King  could  not 
lay  a  new  tax,  a  reformation  of  the  Criminal  laws,  abolition  of 
torture,  suppression  of  corvees,  reformation  of  the  gabelles,  re- 
moval of  the  interior  Custom  Houses,  free  commerce  of  grain, 
internal  and  external,  and  the  establishment  of  Provincial  Assem- 
blies; which,  altogether,  constituted  a  great  mass  of  improve- 
ment in  the  condition  of  the  nation.  The  establishment  of  the 
Provincial  Assemblies  was,  in  itself,  a  fundamental  improvement. 
They  would  be  of  the  choice  of  the  people,  one-third  renewed 
every  year,  in  those  provinces  where  there  are  no  States,  that  is 
to  say,  over  about  three-fourths  of  the  kingdom.  They  would 
be  partly  an  Executive  themselves,  and  partly  an  Executive  Coun- 
cil to  the  Intendant,  to  whom  the  Executive  power,  in  his  province, 
had  been  heretofore  entirely  delegated.  Chosen  by  the  people, 
they  would  soften  the  execution  of  hard  laws,  and,  having  a  right 
of  representation  to  the  King,  they  would  censure  bad  laws,  sug- 
gest good  ones,  expose  abuses,  and  their  representations,  when 
united,  would  command  respect.  To  the  other  advantages,  might 
be  added  the  precedent  itself  of  calling  the  Assemblce  des  Nota- 
bles, which  would  perhaps  grow  into  habit.  The  hope  was,  that 
the  improvements  thus  promised  would  be  carried  into  effect; 
that  they  would  be  maintained  during  the  present  reign,  and  that 
that  would  be  long  enough  for  them  to  take  some  root  in  the  con- 
stitution, so  that  they  might  come  to  be  considered  as  a  part  of  that, 
and  be  protected  by  time,  and  the  attachment  of  the  nation. 

The  Count  de  Vergennes  had  died  a  few  days  before  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Assembly,  and  the  Count  de  Montmorin  had  been 
named  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  in  his  place.  Villedeuil  suc- 
ceeded Calonne,  as  Comptroller  General,  and  Lomenie  de  Bry- 
enne,  Archbishop  of  Thoulouse,  afterwards  of  Sens,  and  ulti- 
mately Cardinal  Lomenie,  was  named  Minister  principal,  with 
whom  the  other  Ministers  were  to  transact  the  business  of  their 


72  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

departments,  heretofore  done  with  the  King  in  person  ;  and  the 
Duke  de  Nivemois,  and  M.  de  Malesherbes,  were  called  to  the 
Council.  On  the  nomination  of  the  Minister  principal,  the  Mar- 
shals de  Segur  and  de  Castries  retired  from  the  departments  of 
War  and  Marine,  unwilling  to  act  subordinately,  or  to  share  the 
blame  of  proceedings  taken  out  of  their  direction.  They  were 
succeeded  by  the  Count  de  Brienne,  brother  of  the  Prime  Minis- 
ter, and  the  Marquis  de  La  Luzerne,  brother  to  him  who  had  been 
Minister  in  the  United  States. 

A  dislocated  wrist,  unsuccessfully  set,  occasioned  advice  from 
my  surgeon,  to  try  the  mineral  waters  of  Aix,  in  Provence,  as  a 
corroborant.  I  left  Paris  for  that  place  therefore,  on  the  28th  of 
February,  and  proceeded  up  the  Seine,  through  Champagne  and 
Burgundy,  and  down  the  Rhone  through  the  Beaujolais  by  Lyons, 
Avignon,  Nismes  to  Aix ;  where,  finding  on  trial  no  benefit  from 
the  waters,  I  concluded  to  visit  the  rice  country  of  Piedmont,  to 
see  if  anything  might  be  learned  there,  to  benefit  the  rivalship 
of  our  Carolina  rice  with  that,  and  thence  to  make  a  tour  of  the 
seaport  towns  of  France,  along  its  Southern  and  Western  coast, 
to  inform  myself,  if  anything  could  be  done  to  favor  our  com- 
merce with  them.  From  Aix,  therefore,  I  took  my  route  by  Mar- 
seilles, Toulon,  Hieres,  Nice,  across  the  Col  de  Tende,  by  Coni, 
Turin,  Vercelli,  Novara,  Milan,  Pavia,  Novi,  Genoa.  Thence, 
returning  along  the  coast  of  Savona,  Noli,  Albenga,  Oneglia, 
Monaco,  Nice,  Antibes,  Frejus,  Aix,  Marseilles,  Avignon,  Nismes, 
Montpellier,  Frontignan,  Cette,  Agde,  and  along  the  canal  of 
Languedoc,  by  Bezieres,  Narbonne,  Cascassonne,  Castelnaudari, 
through  the  Souterrain  of  St.  Feriol,  and  back  by  Castelnaudari, 
to  Toulouse ;  thence  to  Montauban,  and  down  the  Garonne  by 
Langon  to  Bordeaux.  Thence  to  Rochefort,  la  Rochelle,  Nantes, 
L'Orient ;  then  back  by  Rennes  to  Nantes,  and  up  the  Loire  by 
Angers,  Tours,  Amboise,  Blois  to  Orleans,  thence  direct  to  Paris, 
where  I  arrived  on  the  10th  of  June.  Soon  after  my  return  from 
this  journey,  to  wit,  about  the  latter  part  of  July,  I  received  my 
younger  daughter,  Maria,  from  Virginia,  by  the  way  of  London, 
the  youngest  having  died  some  time  before. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  73 

The  treasonable  perfidy  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  Stadtholder 
wad  Captain  General  of  the  United  Netherlands,  in  the  war  which 
England  waged  against  them,  for  entering  into  a  treaty  of  com- 
merce with  the  United  States,  is  known  to  all.  As  their  Execu- 
tive officer,  charged  with  the  conduct  of  the  war,  he  contrived  to 
baffle  all  the  measures  of  the  States  General,  to  dislocate  all  their 
military  plans,  and  played  false  into  the  hands  of  England  against 
his  own  country,  on  every  possible  occasion,  confident  in  her  pro- 
tection, and  in  that  of  the  King  of  Pnissia,  brother  to  his  Princess. 
The  States  General,  indignant  at  this  patricidal  conduct,  applied 
to  France  for  aid,  according  to  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  con- 
cluded with  her  in  '85.  It  was  assured  to  them  readily,  and  in 
cordial  terms,  in  a  letter  from  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  to  the 
Marquis  de  Verac,  Ambassador  of  France  at  the  Hague,  of  which 
the  following  is  an  extract : 

"  Extrait  de  la  deptche  de  Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Vergennes  a 
Monsieur  le  Marquis  de  Verac,  Ambassadeur  de  France  a  la  Haye, 
du  ler  Mars,  1786. 

"  Le  Roi  concourrera,  autant,  qu'  il  sera  en  son  pouvoir,  au  suc- 
ces  de  la  chose,  et  vous  inviterez,  de  sa  part,  les  patriotes  de  lui 
commuriiquer  leurs  vues,  leurs  plans,  et  leurs  envieux.  Vous  les 
assurerez,  que  le  roi  prend  un  interet  veritable  a,  leurs  personnes 
comme  a  leur  cause,  it  qu'  ils  peuvent  compter  sur  sa  protection- 
Us  doiventy  compter  d'  autant  plus,  Monsieur,  que  nous  ne  dissim- 
ulons  pas,  que  si  Monsieur  le  Stadhoulder  reprend  son  ancienne 
influence,  le  systeme  Anglois  ne  tardera  pas  de  prevaloir,  et  que 
notre  alliance  deviendroit  un  ctre  de  raison.  Les  Patriotes  sen- 
tiront  facilement,  que  cette  position  seroit  incompatible  avec  la 
dignite,  comme  avec  la  consideration  de  sa  majeste.  Mais  dans 
le  cas,  Monsieur,  ou  les  chefs  des  Patriotes  auroient  a,  craindre 
une  scission,  ils  auroient  le  temps  suffisant  pour  ramener  ceux  de 
leurs  amis,  que  les  Anglomanes  ont  egares,  et  preparer  les  choses, 
de  maniere  que  la  question  de  nouveau  mise  en  deliberation,  soit 
decidee  selon  leurs  desirs.  Dans  cette  hypothese,  le  roi  vous 
autorise  a  agir  de  concert  avec  eux,  de  suivre  la  direction  qu' 
JLS  jugeront  devoir  vous  donner,  et  d'  employer  tons  les  moyens 


74  JEFFEKSON'S    WOKKS. 

pour  augmenter  le  nombre  des  partisans  de  la  bonne  cause.  II 
me  reste,  Monsieur,  de  vous  parler  de  la  surete  personelle  des 
Patriotes.  Vous  les  assurerez,  que  dans  tout  etat  de  cause,  le  roi 
les  prend  sous  sa  protection  immediate,  et  vous  ferez  connoitre, 
partout  ou  vous  le  jugerez  necessaire,  que  sa  Majeste  regarderoit 
comme  une  offense  personnelle,  tout  ce  qu'  on  entreprenderoit 
contre  leur  liberte.  II  est  a,  presumer  que  ce  langage,  tenu  avec 
energie,  en  imposera  a  1'audace  des  Anglomanes,  et  que  Monsieur 
le  Prince  de  Nassau  croira  courir  quelque  risque  en  provoquant  le 
ressentiment  de  sa  Majeste."* 

This  letter  was  communicated  by  the  Patriots  to  me,  when  at 
Amsterdam,  in  1788,  and  a  copy  sent  by  me  to  Mr.  Jay,  in  my 
letter  to  him  of  March  16,  1788. 

The  object  of  the  Patriots  was,  to  establish  a  representative  and 
republican  government.  The  majority  of  the  States  General 
were  with  them,  but  the  majority  of  the  populace  of  the  towns 
was  with  the  Prince  of  Orange ;  and  that  populace  was  playea 

[*  Extract  from  the  despatch  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  to  the  Marquis  de  Verac, 
Ambassador  from  France,  at  the  Hague,  dated  March  1,  1786  : 

"The  King  will  give  his  aid,  as  far  as  may  be  in  his  power,  towards  the  success  of 
the  affair,  and  will,  on  his  part,  invite  the  Patriots  to  communicate  to  him  their  views, 
their  plans,  and  their  discontents.  You  may  assure  them  that  the  King  takes  a  real 
interest  in  themselves  as  well  as  their  cause,  and  that  they  may  rely  upon  his  protec- 
tion. On  this  they  may  place  the  greater  dependence,  as  we  do  not  conceal,  that  if 
the  Stadtholder  resumes  his  former  influence,  the  English  System  will  soon  prevail, 
and  our  alliance  become  a  mere  affair  of  the  imagination.  The  Patriots  will  readilv 
feel,  that  this  position  would  be  incompatible  both  with  the  dignity  and  considera- 
tion of  his  Majesty.  But  in  case  the  Chief  of  the  Patriots  should  have  to  fear  a  di- 
vision, they  would  have  time  sufficient  to  reclaim  those  whom  the  Anglomaniacs  had 
misled,  and  to  prepare  matters  iu  such  a  manner,  that  the  question  when  again  agi- 
tated, might  be  decided  according  to  their  wishes.  In  such  a  hypothetical  case,  the 
King  authorizes  you  to  act  in  concert  with  them,  to  pursue  the  direction  which  they 
may  think  proper  to  give  you,  and  to  employ  every  means  to  augment  the  number 
of  the  partisans  of  the  good  cause.  It  remains  for  me  to  speak  of  the  persomd  se- 
curity of  the  Patriots.  You  may  assure  them,  that  under  every  circumstance,  the 
King  will  take  them  under  his  immediate  protection,  and  you  will  make  known 
wherever  you  may  judge  necessary,  that  his  Majesty  will  regard  as  a  personal  offence 
every  undertaking  against  their  liberty.  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  this  language, 
energetically  maintained,  may  have  some  effect  on  the  audacity  of  the  Anglomauiac?, 
and  that  the  Prince  de  Nassau  will  feel  that  he  runs  some  risk  in  provoking  the 
resentment  of  his  Majesty."] 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  75 

off  with  great  effect,  by  the  triumvirate  of  *  *  *  Harris,  the  Eng- 
lish Ambassador,  afterwards  Lord  Malmesbury,  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  a  stupid  man,  and  the  Princess  as  much  a  man  as  either 
of  her  colleagues,  in  audaciousness,  in  enterprise,  and  in  the  thirst 
of  domination.  By  these,  the  mobs  of  the  Hague  were  excited 
against  the  members  of  the  States  General ;  their  persons  were 
insulted  and  endangered  in  the  streets ;  the  sanctuary  of  their 
houses  was  violated  ;  and  the  Prince,  whose  function  and,  duty  it 
was  to  repress  and  punish  these  violations  of  order,  took  no  steps 
for  that  purpose.  The  States  General,  for  their  own  protection, 
were  therefore  obliged  to  place  their  militia  under  the  command 
of  a  Committee.  The  Prince  filled  the  courts  of  London  and 
Berlin  with  complaints  at  this  usurpation  of  his  prerogatives,  and, 
forgetting  that  he  was  but  the  first  servant  of  a  Republic, 
marched  his  regular  troops  against  the  city  of  Utrecht,  where  the 
States  were  in  session.  They  were  repulsed  by  the  militia.  His 
interests  now  became  marshalled  with  those  of  the  public  enemy, 
and  against  his  own  country.  The  States,  therefore,  exercising 
their  rights  of  sovereignty,  deprived  him  of  all  his  powers.  The 
great  Frederic  had  died  in  August,  '86.  He  had  never  intended 
to  break  with  France  in  support  of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  Dur- 
ing the  illness  of  which  he  died,  he  had,  through  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  declared  to  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  who  was  then 
at  Berlin,  that  he  meant  not  to  support  the  English  interest  in 
Holland :  that  he  might  assure  the  government  of  France,  his 
only  wish  was,  that  some  honorable  place  in  the  Constitution 
should  be  reserved  for  the  Stadtholder  and  his  children,  and  that 
he  would  take  no  part  in  the  quarrel,  unless  an  entire  abolition 
of  the  Stadtholderate  should  be  attempted.  But  his  place  was 
now  occupied  by  Frederic  William,  his  great  nephew,  a  man  of 
little  understanding,  much  caprice,  and  very  inconsiderate  ;  and 
the  Princess,  his  sister,  although  her  husband  was  in  arms  against 
the  legitimate  authorities  of  the  country,  attempting  to  go  to 
Amsterdam,  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  the  mobs  of  that  place, 
and  being  refused  permission  to  pass  a  military  post  on  the  way, 
he  put  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  at  the  head  of  twenty  thousand 


76  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

men,  and  made  demonstrations  of  marching  on  Holland.  The 
King  of  France  hereupon  declared,  by  his  Charge  des  Affaires  in 
Holland,  that  if  the  Prussian  troops  continued  to  menace  Holland 
with  an  invasion,  his  Majesty,  in  quality  of  Ally,  was  determined 
to  succor  that  province.  In  answer  to  this,  Eden  gave  official  in- 
formation to  Count  Montmorin,  that  England  must  consider  as  at 
an  end  its  convention  with  France  relative  to  giving  notice  of  its 
naval  armaments,  and  that  she  was  arming  generally.  War  be- 
ing now  imminent,  Eden,  since  Lord  Aukland,  questioned  me  on 
the  effect  of  our  treaty  with  France,  in  the  case  of  a  war,  and 
what  might  be  our  dispositions.  I  told  him  frankly,  and  without 
hesitation,  that  our  dispositions  would  be  neutral,  and  that  I 
thought  it  would  be  the  interest  of  both  these  powers  that  we 
should  be  so ;  because,  it  would  relieve  both  from  all  anxiety  as 
to  feeding  their  West  India  islands ;  that  England,  too,  by  suf- 
fering us  to  remain  so,  would  avoid  a  heavy  land  war  on  our  Con- 
tinent, which  might  very  much  cripple  her  proceedings  else- 
where ;  that  our  treaty,  indeed,  obliged  us  to  receive  into  our 
ports  the  armed  vessels  of  France,  with  their  prizes,  and  to  refuse 
admission  to  the  prizes  made  on  her  by  her  enemies  :  that  there 
was  a  clause,  also,  by  which  we  guaranteed  to  France  her  Ameri- 
can possessions,  which  might  perhaps  force  us  into  the  war,  if 
these  were  attacked.  "  Then  it  will  be  war,"  said  he,  "  for  they 
will  assuredly  be  attacked."  Listen,  at  Madrid,  about  the  same 
time,  made  the  same  inquiries  of  Carmichael.  The  Government 
of  France  then  declared  a  determination  to  form  a  camp  of  ob- 
servation at  Givet,  commenced  arming  her  marine,  and  named 
the  Bailli  de  Suffrein  their  Generalissimo  on  the  Ocean.  She 
secretly  engaged,  also,  in  negotiations  with  Russia,  Austria,  and 
Spain,  to  form  a  quadruple  alliance.  The  Duke  of  Brunswick 
having  advanced  to  the  confines  of  Holland,  sent  some  of  his 
officers  to  Givet,  to  reconnoitre  the  state  of  things  there,  and  re- 
port them  to  him.  He  said  afterwards,  that  "  if  there  had  been 
only  a  few  tents  at  that  place,  he  should  not  have  advanced  far- 
ther, for  that  the  King  would  not,  merely  for  the  interest  of  his 
sister,  engage  in  a  war  with  France."  But,  finding  that  there 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  77 

was  not  a  single  company  there,  he  boldly  entered  the  country, 
took  their  towns  as  fast  as  he  presented  himself  before  them,  and 
advanced  on  Utrecht.  The  States  had  appointed  the  Rhingrave 
of  Salm  their  Commander-in-Chief  ;  a  Prince  without  talents, 
without  courage,  and  without  principle.  He  might  have  held 
out  in  Utrecht  for  a  considerable  time,  but  he  surrendered  the 
place  without  firing  a  gun,  literally  ran  away  and  hid  himself,  so 
that  for  months  it  was  not  known  what  had  become  of  him. 
Amsterdam  was  then  attacked,  and  capitulated.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  negotiations  for  the  quadruple  alliance  were  proceeding 
favorably ;  but  the  secrecy  with  which  they  were  attempted  to 
be  conducted,  was  penetrated  by  Fraser,  Charge  des  Affaires  of 
England  at  St.  Petersburg,  who  instantly  notified  his  court,  and 
gave  the  alarm  to  Prussia.  The  King  saw  at  once  what  Avould 
be  his  situation,  between  the  jaws  of  France,  Austria,  and  Rus- 
sia. In  great  dismay,  he  besought  the  court  of  London  not  to 
abandon  him,  sent  Alvensleben  to  Paris  to  explain  and  soothe  ; 
and  England,  through  the  Duke  of  Dorset  and  Eden,  renewed 
her  conferences  for  accommodation.  The  Archbishop,  who  shud- 
dered at  the  idea  of  war,  and  preferred  a  peaceful  surrender  of 
right  to  an  armed  vindication  of  it,  received  them  with  open 
arms,  entered  into  cordial  conferences,  and  a  declaration,  and 
counter-declaration,  were  cooked  up  at  Versailles,  and  sent  to 
London  for  approbation.  They  were  approved  there,  reached 
Paris  at  one  o'clock  of  the  27th,  and  were  signed  that  night  at 
Versailles.  It  was  said  and  believed  at  Paris,  that  M.  de  Mont- 
morin,  literally  "  pleuroit  comme  un  enfant,"  when  obliged  to 
sign  this  counter-declaration  ;  so  distressed  was  he  by  the  dishon- 
or of  sacrificing  the  Patriots,  after  assurances  so  solemn  of  pro- 
tection, and  absolute  encouragement  to  proceed.  The  Prince  of 
Orange  was  reinstated  in  all  his  powers,  now  become  regal.  A 
great  emigration  of  the  Patriots  took  place  ;  all  were  deprived  of 
office,  many  exiled,  and  their  property  confiscated.  They  were 
received  in  France,  and  subsisted,  for  some  time,  on  her  bounty . 
Thus  fell  Holland,  by  the  treachery  of  her  Chief,  from  her  hon- 
orable independence,  to  become  a  province  of  England  ;  and  so, 


78  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

also,  her  Stadth  older,  from  the  high  station  of  the  first  citizen  of 
a  free  Republic,  to  be  the  servile  Viceroy  of  a  foreign  Sovereign. 
And  this  was  effected  by  a  mere  scene  of  bullying  and  demon- 
stration ;  not  one  of  the  parties,  France,  England,  or  Prussia, 
having  ever  really  meant  to  encounter  actual  war  for  the  interest 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  But  it  had  all  the  effect  of  a  real  and 
decisive  war. 

Our  first  essay,  in  America,  to  establish  a  federative  govern- 
ment had  fallen,  on  trial,  very  short  of  its  object.  During  the 
war  of  Independence,  while  the  pressure  of  an  external  enemy 
hooped  us  together,  and  their  enterprises  kept  us  necessarily  on 
the  alert,  the  spirit  of  the  people,  excited  by  danger,  was  a  sup- 
plement to  the  Confederation,  and  urged  them  to  zealous  exer- 
tions, whether  claimed  by  that  instrument  or  not ;  but,  when 
peace  and  safety  were  restored,  and  every  man  became  engaged 
in  useful  and  profitable  occupation,  less  attention  was  paid  to  the 
calls  of  Congress.  The  fundamental  defect  of  the  Confederation 
was,  that  Congress  was  not  authorized  to  act  immediately  on  the 
people,  and  by  its  own  officers.  Their  power  was  only  requisi- 
tory,  and  these  requisitions  were  addressed  to  the  several  Legisla- 
tures, to  be  by  them  carried  into  execution,  without  other  coer- 
cion than  the  moral  principle  of  duty.  This  allowed,  in  fact,  a 
negative  to  every  Legislature,  on  every  measure  proposed  by 
Congress  ;  a  negative  so  frequently  exercised  in  practice,  as  to 
benumb  the  action  of  the  Federal  government,  and  to  render  it 
inefficient  in  its  general  objects,  and  more  especially  in  pecuniary 
and  foreign  concerns.  The  want,  too,  of  a  separation  of  the 
Legislative,  Executive,  and  Judiciary  functions,  worked  disad- 
vantageously  in  practice.  Yet  this  state  of  things  afforded  a 
happy  augury  of  the  future  march  of  our  Confederacy,  when  it 
was  seen  that  the  good  sense  and  good  dispositions  of  the  people, 
as  soon  as  they  perceived  the  incompetence  of  their  first  compact, 
instead  of  leaving  its  correction  to  insurrection  and  civil  war, 
agreed,  with  one  voice,  to  elect  deputies  to  a  general  Convention, 
who  should  peaceably  meet  and  agree  on  such  a  Constitution  as 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  79 

"  would  ensure  peace,  justice,  liberty,  the  common  defence  and 
general  welfare*" 

(JPhis  Convention  met  at  Philadelphia  on  the  25th  of  May,  '87. 
It  sat  with  closed  doors,  and  kept  all  its  proceedings  secret,  until 
its  dissolution  on  the  17th  of  September,  when  the  results  of  its 
labors  were  published  all  together.  I  received  a  copy,  early 
in  November,  and  read  and  contemplated  its  provisions  with  great 
satisfaction.  As  not  a  member  of  the  Convention,  however,  nor 
probably  a  single  citizen  of  the  Union,  had  approved  it  in  all  its 
parts,  so  I,  too,  found  articles  which  I  thought  objectionable. 
The  absence  of  express  declarations  ensuring  freedom  of  reli- 
gion, freedom  of  the  press,  freedom  of  the  person  under  the  un- 
interrupted protection  of  the  Habeas  corpus,  and  trial  by  jury  in 
Civil  as  well  as  in  Criminal  cases,  excited  my  jealousy  ;  and  the 
re-eligibility  of  the  President  for  life,  I  quite  disapproved.  I  ex- 
pressed freely,  in  letters  to  my  friends,  and  most  particularly  to 
Mr.  Madison  and  General  Washington,  my  approbations  and  ob- 
jections. How  the  good  should  be  secured  and  the  ill  brought 
to  rights,  was  the  difficulty.  |  To  refer  it  back  to  a  new  Conven- 
tion might  endanger  the  loss  of  the  whole.  My  first  idea  was, 
that  the  nine  States  first  acting,  should  accept  it  unconditionally, 
and  thus  secure  what  in  it  was  good,  and  that  the  four  last  should 
accept  on  the  previous  condition,  that  certain  amendments  should 
be  agreed  to  ;  but  a  better  course  was  devised,  of  accepting  the 
whole,  and  trusting  that  the  good  sense  and  honest  intentions  of 
our  citizens,  would  make  the  alterations  which  should  be  deemed 
necessary.  Accordingly,  all  accepted,  six  without  objection,  and 
seven  with  recommendations  of  specified  amendments.  Those 
respecting  the  press,  religion,  and  juries,  with  several  others,  of 
great  value,  were  accordingly  made  ;  but  the  Habeas  corpus  was 
left  to  the  discretion  of  Congress,  and  the  amendment  against 
the  re-eligibility  of  the  President  was  not  proposed.  My  fears 
of  that  feature  were  founded  on  the  importance  of  the  office,  on 
the  fierce  contentions  it  might  excite  among  ourselves,  if  contin- 
uable  for  life,  and  the  dangers  of  interference,  either  with  money 
or  arms,  by  foreign  nations,  to  whom  the  choice  of  an  American 


gO  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

President  might  become  interesting.  Examples  of  this  abounded 
in  history ;  in  the  case  of  the  Roman  Emperors,  for  instance  ;  of 
the  Popes,  while  of  any  significance  ;  of  the  German  Emperors  ; 
the  Kings  of  Poland,  and  the  Deys  of  Barbary.  I  had  observed, 
too,  in  the  feudal  history,  and  in  the  recent  instance,  particularly, 
of  the  Stadtholder  of  Holland,  how  easily  offices,  or  tenures  for 
life,  slide  into  inheritances.  My  wish,  therefore,  was,  that  the 
President  should  be  elected  for  seven  years,  and  be  ineligible 
afterwards.  This  term  I  thought  sufficient  to  enable  him,  with 
the  concurrence  of  the  Legislature,  to  carry  through  and  estab- 
lish any  system  of  improvement  he  should  propose  for  the  gene- 
ral good.  But  the  practice  adopted,  I  think,  is  better,  allowing 
his  continuance  for  eight  years,  with  a  liability  to  be  dropped  at 
half  way  of  the  term,  mal^ng  that  a  period  of  probation.  That 
his  continuance  should  be  restrained  to  seven  years,  was  the 
opinion  of  the  Convention  at  an  earlier  stage  of  its  session,  when 
it  voted  that  term,  by  a  majority  of  eight  against  two,  and  by  a 
simple  majority  that  he  should  be  ineligible  a  second  time.  This 
opinion  was  confirmed  by  the  House  so  late  as  July  26,  referred 
to  the  Committee  of  detail,  reported  favorably  by  them,  and 
changed  to  the  present  form  by  final  vote,  on  the  last  day  but 
one  only  of  their  session.  Of  this  change,  three  States  expressed 
their  disapprobation  ;  New  York,  by  recommending  an  amend- 
ment, that  the  President  should  riot  be  eligible  a  third  time,  and 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina  that  he  should  not  be  capable  of 
serving  more  than  eight,  in  any  term  of  sixteen  years ;  and 
though  this  amendment  has  not  been  made  in  form,  yet  practice 
seems  to  have  established  it.  The  example  of  four  Presidents 
voluntarily  retiring  at  the  end  of  their  eighth  year,  and  the  pro- 
gress of  public  opinion,  that  the  principle  is  salutary,  have  given 
it  in  practice  the  force  of  precedent  and  usage  ;  insomuch,  that, 
should  a  President  consent  to  be  a  candidate  for  a  third  election, 
I  trust  he  would  be  rejected,  on  this  demonstration  of  ambitious 
views. 

But  there  was  another  amendment,  of  which  none  of  us  thought 
at  the  time,  and  in  the  omission  of  which,  lurks  the  germ  that  is 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  81 

to  destroy  this  happy  combination  of  National  powers  in  the 
General  government,  for  matters  of  National  concern,  and  inde- 
pendent powers  in  the  States,  for  what  concerns  the  States  seve- 
rally. In  England,  it  was  a  great  point  gained  at  the  Revolution, 
that  the  commissions  of  the  Judges,  which  had  hitherto  been 
during  pleasure,  should  thenceforth  be  made  during  good  beha- 
vior. A  Judiciary,  dependent  on  the  will  of  the  King,  had 
proved  itself  the  most  oppressive  of  all  tools,  in  the  hands  of 
that  Magistrate.  Nothing,  then,  could  be  more  salutary,  than  a 
change  there,  to  the  tenure  of  good  behavior ;  and  the  question 
of  good  behavior,  left  to  the  vote  of  a  simple  majority  in  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament.  Before  the  Revolution,  we  were  all  good 
English  Whigs,  cordial  in  their  free  principles,  and  in  their  jeal- 
ousies of  their  Executive  Magistrate.  These  jealousies  are  very 
apparent,  in  all  our  state  Constitutions ;  and,  in  the  General  gov- 
ernment in  this  instance,  we  have  gone  even  beyond  the  Eng- 
lish caution,  by  requiring  a  vote  of  two-thirds,  in  one  of  the 
Houses,  for  removing  a  Judge  ;  a  vote  so  impossible,  where*  any 
defence  is  made,  before  men  of  ordinary  prejudices  and  passions, 
that  our  Judges  are  effectually  independent  of  the  nation.  But 
this  ought  not  to  be.  I  would  not,  indeed,  make  them  depend- 
ent on  the  Executive  authority,  as  they  formerly  were  in  Eng- 
land ;  but  I  deem  it  indispensable  to  the  continuance  of  this  gov- 
ernment, that  they  should  be  submitted  to  some  practical  and  im- 
partial control ;  and  that  this,  to  be  imparted,  must  be  compound- 
ed of  a  mixture  of  State  and  Federal  authorities.  It  is  not 
enough  that  honest  men  are  appointed  Judges.  All  know  the 
influence  of  interest  on  the  mind  of  man,  and  how  unconsciously 
his  judgment  is  warped  by  that  influence.  To  this  bias  add  that 
of  the  esprit  de  corps,  of  their  peculiar  maxim  and  creed,  that 
"  it  is  the  office  of  a  good  Judge  to  enlarge  his  jurisdiction,"  and 
the  absence  of  responsibility ;  and  how  can  we  expect  impartial 
decision  between  the  General  government,  of  which  they  are 

*  Iu  the  impeachment  of  Judge  Pickering,  of  New  Hampshire,  a  habitual  and 
maniac  drunkard,  no  defence  was  made.  Had  there  been,  the  party  Tote  of  more 
than  one-third  of  the  Senate  would  have  acquitted  him. 

VOL.    I.  6 


82  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

themselves  so  eminent  a  part,  and  an  individual  State,  from  which 
they  have  nothing  to  hope  or  fear  ?  We  have  seen,  too,  that 
contrary  to  all  correct  example,  they  are  in  the  hahit  of  going 
out  of  the  question  before  them,  to  throw  an  anchor  ahead,  and 
grapple  further  hold  for  future  advances  of  power.  They  are 
then,  in  fact,  the  corps  of  sappers  and  miners,  steadily  working 
to  undermine  the  independent  rights  of  the  States,  and  to  con- 
solidate all  power  in  the  hands  of  that  government  in  which 
they  have  so  important  a  freehold  estate.  But  it  is  not  by  the 
consolidation,  or  concentration  of  powers,  but  by  their  distribu- 
tion, that  good  government  is  effected.  Were  not  this  great 
country  already  divided  into  States,  that  division  must  be  made, 
that  each  might  do  for  itself  what  concerns  itself  directly,  and 
what  it  can  so  much  better  do  than  a  distant  authority.  Every 
State  again  is  divided  into  counties,  each  to  take  care  of  what 
lies  within  its  local  bounds  ;  each  county  again  into  townships 
or  wards,  to  manage  minuter  details  ;  and  every  ward  into  farms, 
to  be  governed  each  by  its  individual  proprietor.  Were  we  di- 
rected from  Washington  when  to  sow,  and  when  to  reap,  we 
should  soon  want  bread.  It  is  by  this  partition  of  cares,  descend- 
ing in  gradation  from  general  to  particular,  that  the  mass  of  hu- 
man affairs  may  be  best  managed,  for  the  good  and  prosperity  of 
all.  I  repeat,  that  I  do  not  charge  the  Judges  with  wilful  and  ill- 
intentioned  error  ;  but  honest  error  must  be  arrested,  where  its 
toleration  leads  to  public  ruin.  As,  for  the  safety  of  society,  we 
commit  honest  maniacs  to  Bedlam,  so  judges  should  be  with- 
drawn from  their  bench,  whose  erroneous  biases  are  leading  us 
to  dissolution.  It  may,  indeed,  injure  them  in  fame  or  in  for- 
tune ;  but  it  saves  the  Republic,  which  is  the  first  and  supreme 
law. 

Among  the  debilities  of  the  government  of  the  Confederation, 
no  one  was  more  distinguished  or  more  distressing,  than  the  utter 
impossibility  of  obtaining,  from  the  States,  the  moneys  necessary 
for  the  payment  of  debts,  or  even  for  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the 
government.  Some  contributed  a  little,  some  less,  and  some 
nothing ;  and  the  last  furnished  at  length  an  excuse  for  the  first 


AUTOBIOGKAPHY.  88 

to  do  nothing  also.  Mr.  Adams,  while  residing  at  the  Hague, 
had  a  general  authority  to  borrow  what  sums  might  be  requisite, 
for  ordinary  and  necessary  expenses.  Interest  on  the  public  debt, 
and  the  maintenance  of  the  diplomatic  establishment  in  Europe, 
had  been  habitually  provided  in  this  way.  He  was  now  elected 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  was  soon  to  return  to  Ame- 
rica, and  had  referred  our  bankers  to  me  for  future  counsel,  on 
our  affairs  in  their  hands.  But  I  had  no  powers,  no  instructions, 
no  means,  and  no  familiarity  with  the  subject.  It  had  always 
been  exclusively  under  his  management,  except  as  to  occasional 
and  partial  deposits  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Grand,  banker  in  Paris, 
for  special  and  local  purposes.  These  last  had  been  exhausted 
for  some  time,  and  I  had  fervently  pressed  the  Treasury  board  to 
replenish  this  particular  deposit,  as  Mr.  Grand  now  refused  to 
make  further  advances.  They  answered  candidly,  that  no  funds 
could  be  obtained  until  the  new  government  should  get  into  action, 
and  have  time  to  make  its  arrangements.  Mr.  Adams  had  re- 
ceived his  appointment  to  the  court  of  London,  while  engaged  at 
Paris,  with  Dr.  Franklin  and  myself,  in  the  negotiations  under  our 
joint  commissions.  He  had  repaired  thence  to  London,  without 
returning  to  the  Hague,  to  take  leave  of  that  government.  He 
thought  it  necessary,  however,  to  do  so  now,  before  he  should 
leave  Europe,  and  accordingly  went  there.  I  learned  his  depar- 
ture from  London,  by  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Adams,  received  on  the 
very  day  on  which  he  would  arrive  at  the  Hague.  A  consulta- 
tion with  him,  and  some  provision  for  the  future,  was  indispen- 
sable, while  we  could  yet  avail  ourselves  of  his  powers ;  for  when 
they  would  be  gone,  we  should  be  without  resource.  I  was 
daily  dunned  by  a  Company  who  had  formerly  made  a  small 
loan  to  the  United  States,  the  principal  of  which  was  now  become 
due  ;  and  our  bankers  in  Amsterdam,  had  notified  me  that  the 
interest  on  our  general  debt  would  be  expected  in  June;  that  if 
we  failed  to  pay  it,  it  would  be  deemed  an  act  of  bankruptcy,  and 
would  effectually  destroy  the  credit  of  the  United  States,  and  all 
future  prospect  of  obtaining  money  there  ;  that  the  loan  they  had 
been,  authorized  to  open,  of  which  a  third  only  was  filled,  had 


84  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

now  ceased  to  get  forward,  and  rendered  desperate  that  hope  of 
resource.  I  saw  that  there  was  not  a  moment  to  lose,  and  set  out 
for  the  Hague  on  the  second  morning  after  receiving  the  informa- 
tion of  Mr.  Adams's  journey.  I  went  the  direct  road  by  Louvres, 
Senlis,  Roye,  Pont  St.  Maxence,  Bois  le  due,  Gournay,  Peronne, 
Cambray,  Bouchain,  Valenciennes,  Mons,  Bruxelles,  Malines,  Ant- 
werp, Mordick,  and  Rotterdam,  to  the  Hague,  where  I  happily 
found  Mr.  Adams.  He  concurred  with  me  at  once  in  opinion, 
that  something  must  be  done,  and  that  we  ought  to  risk  ourselves 
on  doing  it  without  instructions,  to  save  the  credit  of  the  United 
States.  We  foresaw,  that  before  the  new  government  could,  be 
adopted,  assembled,  establish  its  financial  system,  get  the  money 
into  the  Treasury,  and  place  it  in  Europe,  considerable  time  would 
elapse ;  that,  therefore,  we  had  better  provide  at  once,  for  the 
years  '88,  '89,  and  '90,  in  order  to  place  our  government  at  its 
ease,  and  our  credit  in  security,  during  that  trying  interval.  We 
set  out,  therefore,  by  the  way  of  Leyden,  for  Amsterdam,  where 
we  arrived  on  the  10th.  I  had  prepared  an  estimate,  showing 
that 

Florins. 

There  would  be  necessary  for  the  year  '88 — 531,937-10 

'89—538,540 
'90—473,540 


Total,         1,544,017-10 
Florins. 
To  meet  this,  the  bankers  had  in  hand,  79,268-2-8 

and  the  unsold  bonds  would  yield,     542,800  622,068-2-8 


Leaving  a  deficit  of  .  .  .  .  921,949-7-4 

We  proposed  then  to  borrow  a  million,  yielding  920,000 


Which  would  leave  a  small  deficiency  of     .      .      1 ,949-7-4 

Mr.  Adams  accordingly  executed  1000  bonds,  for  1000  florins 
each,  and  deposited  them  in  the  hands  of  our  bankers,  with  in- 
structions, however,  not  to  issue  them  until  Congress  should  ratify 
the  measure.  This  done,  he  returned  to  London,  and  I  set  out 
for  Paris  ;  and,  as  nothing  urgent  forbade  it,  I  determined  to  re- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  85 

turn  along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  to  Strasburg,  and  thence  strike 
off  to  Paris.  I  accordingly  left  Amsterdam  on  the  30th  of  March, 
and  proceeded  by  Utrecht,  Nimeguen,  Cleves,  Duysberg,  Dus- 
seldorf,  Cologne,  Bonne,  Coblentz,  Nassau,  Hocheim,  Frankfort, 
and  made  an  excursion  to  Hanau,  thence  to  Mayence,  and  another 
excursion  to  Rudesheim,  and  Johansberg ;  then  by  Oppenheim, 
Worms,  and  Manheim,  making  an  excursion  to  Heidelberg,  then 
by  Spire,  Carlsruh,  Rastadt  and  Kelh,  to  Strasburg,  where  I  ar- 
rived April  the  16th,  and  proceeded  again  on  the  18th,  by  Phals- 
bourg,  Fenestrange,  Dieuze,  Moyenvie,  Nancy,  Toul,  Ligny, 
Barleduc,  St.  Diziers,  Vitry,  Chalons  sur  Marne,  Epernay,  Cha- 
teau Thierri,  Meaux,  to  Paris,  where  I  arrived  on  the  23d  of 
April ;  and  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  reflect,  that  by  this  journey 
our  credit  was  secured,  the  new  government  was  placed  at  ease 
for  two  years  to  come,  and  that,  as  well  as  myself,  relieved  from 
Ihe  torment  of  incessant  duns,  whose  just  complaints  could  not 
be  silenced  by  any  means  within  our  power. 

A  Consular  Convention  had  been  agreed  on  in  '84,  between  Dr. 
Franklin  and  the  French  government,  containing  several  articles, 
so  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  laws  of  the  several  States,  and 
the  general  spirit  of  our  citizens,  that  Congress  withheld  their 
ratification,  and  sent  it  back  to  me,  with  instructions  to  get  those 
articles  expunged,  or  modified  so  as  to  render  them  compatible 
with  our  laws.  The  Minister  unwillingly  released  us  from  these 
concessions,  which,  indeed,  authorized  the  exercise  of  powers  very 
offensive  in  a  free  State.  After  much  discussion,  the  Convention 
was  reformed  in  a  considerable  degree,  and  was  signed  by  the 
Count  Montmorin  and  myself,  on  the  14th  of  November,  '88 ; 
not,  indeed,  such  as  I  would  have  wished,  but  such  as  could  be 
obtained  with  good  humor  and  friendship. 

On  my  return  from  Holland,  I  found  Paris  as  I  had  left  it,  still 
in  high  fermentation.  Had  the  Archbishop,  on  the  close  of  the 
Assembly  of  Notables,  immediately  carried  into  operation  the 
measures  contemplated,  it  was  believed  they  would  all  have  been 
registered  by  the  Parliament;  but  he  was  slow,  presented  his 
edicts,  one  after  another,  and  at  considerable  intervals,  which 


86  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

gave  time  for  the  feelings  excited  by  the  proceedings  of  the 
Notables  to  cool  off,  new  claims  to  be  advanced,  and  a  pressure 
to  arise  for  a  fixed  constitution,  not  subject  to  changes  at  the  will 
of  the  King.  Nor  should  we  wonder  at  this  pressure,  when  we 
consider  the  monstrous  abuses  of  power  under  which  this  people 
were  ground  to  powder ;  when  we  pass  in  review  the  weight  of 
their  taxes,  and  the  inequality  of  their  distribution  ;  the  oppress- 
ions of  the  tithes,  the  tailles,  the  corvees,  the  gabelles,  the  farms 
and  the  barriers  ;  the  shackles  on  commerce  by  monopolies ;  on 
industry  by  guilds  and  corporations  ;  on  the  freedom  of  conscience, 
of  thought,  and  of  speech  ;  on  the  freedom  of  the  press  by  the 
Censure  ;  and  of  the  person  by  Lettres  de  Cachet ;  the  cruelty 
of  the  Criminal  code  generally  ;  the  atrocities  of  the  Rack  ;  the  ve- 
nality of  the  Judges,  and  their  partialities  to  the  rich  ;  the  monopoly 
of  Military  honors  by  the  Noblesse  ;  the  enormous  expenses  of 
the  Queen,  the  Princes  and  the  Court ;  the  prodigalities  of  pen- 
sions ;  and  the  riches,  luxury,  indolence  and  immorality  of  the 
Clergy.  Surely  under  such  a  mass  of  misrule  and  oppression,  a 
people  might  justly  press  for  a  thorough  reformation,  and  might 
even  dismount  their  rough-shod  riders,  and  leave  them  to  walk  on 
their  own  legs.  The  edicts,  relative  to  the  corvees  and  free  cir- 
culation of  grain,  were  first  presented  to  the  Parliament  and  re- 
gistered ;  but  those  for  the  impCt  territorial,  and  stamp  tax,  offered 
some  time  after,  were  refused  by  the  Parliament,  which  proposed 
a  call  of  the  States  General,  as  alone  competent  to  their  authoriza- 
tion. Their  refusal-produced  a  Bed  of  justice,  and  their  exile  to 
Troyes.  The  Advocates,  however,  refusing  to  attend  them,  a 
suspension  in  the  administration  of  justice  took  place.  The 
Parliament  held  out  for  awhile,  but  the  ennui  of  their  exile  and 
absence  from  Paris,  began  at  length  to  be  felt,  and  some  disposi- 
tions for  compromise  to  appear.  On  their  consent,  therefore,  to 
prolong  some  of  the  former  taxes,  they  were  recalled  from  exile, 
the  King  met  them  in  session,  November  19,  '87,  promised  to  call 
the  States  General  in  the  year  '92,  and  a  majority  expressed 
their  assent  to  register  an  edict  for  successive  and  annual  loans 
from  1788  to  '92;  but  a  protest  being  entered  by  the  Duke 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  87 

of  Orleans,  and  this  encouraging  others  in  a  disposition  to 
retract,  the  King  ordered  peremptorily  the  registry  of  the 
edict,  and  left  the  assembly  abruptly.  The  Parliament  imme- 
diately protested,  that  the  votes  for  the  enregistry  had  not  been 
legally  taken,  and  that  they  gave  no  sanction  to  the  loans  pro- 
posed. This  was  enough  to  discredit  and  defeat  them.  Here- 
upon issued  another  edict,  for  the  establishment  of  a  cour  pleniere, 
and  the  suspension  of  all  the  Parliaments  in  the  kingdom.  This 
being  opposed,  as  might  be  expected,  by  reclamations  from  all 
the  Parliaments  and  Provinces,  the  King  gave  way,  and  by  an 
edict  of  July  5th,  '88,  renounced  his  cour  pleniere,  and  promised 
the  States  General  for  the  1st  of  May,  of  the  ensuing  year ;  and 
the  Archbishop,  finding  the  times  beyond  his  faculties,  accepted 
the  promise  of  a  Cardinal's  hat,  was  removed  [September  '88] 
from  the  Ministry,  and  M.  Necker  was  called  to  the  department 
of  finance.  The  innocent  rejoicings  of  the  people  of  Paris  on 
this  change  provoked  the  interference  of  an  officer  of  the  city 
guards,  whose  order  for  their  dispersion  not  being  obeyed,  he 
charged  them  with  fixed  bayonets,  killed  two  or  three,  and  wound- 
ed many.  This  dispersed  them  for  the  moment,  but  they  col- 
lected the  next  day  in  great  numbers,  burnt  ten  or  twelve  guard- 
houses, killed  two  or  three  of  the  guards,  and  lost  six  or  eight 
more  of  their  own  number.  The  city  was  hereupon  put  under 
Martial  law,  and  after  awhile  the  tumult  subsided.  The  effect  of 
this  change  of  ministers,  and  the  promise  of  the  States  General 
at  an  early  day,  tranquillized  the  nation.  But  two  great  questions 
now  ocurrred.  1st.  What  proportion  shall  the  number  of  depu- 
ties of  the  Tiers  etat  bear  to  those  of  the  Nobles  and  Clergy  ? 
And  2d,  shall  they  sit  in  the  same  or  in  distinct  apartments  ?  M. 
Necker,  desirous  of  avoiding  himself  these  knotty  questions,  pro- 
posed a  second  call  of  the  same  Notables,  and  that  their  advice 
should  be  asked  on  the  subject.  They  met,  November  9,  '88 ; 
and,  by  five  bureaux  against  one,  they  recommended  the  forms 
of  the  States  General  of  1614;  wherein  the  Houses  were  sepa- 
rate, and  voted  by  orders,  not  by  persons.  But  the  whole  nation 
declaring  at  once  against  this,  and  that  the  Tiers  etat  should  be, 


88  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

in  numbers,  equal  to  both  the  other  orders,  and  the  Parliament 
deciding  for  the  same  proportion,  it  was  determined  so  to  be,  by 
a  declaration  of  December  27th,  '88.  A  Report  of  M.  Necker, 
to  the  King,  of  about  the  same  date,  contained  other  very  import- 
ant concessions.  1.  That  the  King  could  neither  lay  a  new  tax", 
nor  prolong  an  old  one.  2.  It  expressed  a  readiness  to  agree  on 
the  periodical  meeting  of  the  States.  3.  To  consult  on  the  ne- 
cessary restriction  on  Lettres  de  Cachet;  and  4.  How  far  the 
press  might  be  made  free.  5.  It  admits  that  the  States  are  to 
appropriate  the  public  money  ;  and  6.  That  Ministers  shall  be 
responsible  for  public  expenditures.  And  these  concessions  came 
from  the  very  heart  of  the  King.  He  had  not  a  wish  but  for  the 
good  of  the  nation  ;  and  for  that  object,  no  personal  sacrifice 
would  ever  have  cost  him  a  moment's  regret ;  but  his  mind  was 
weakness  itself,  his  constitution  timid,  his  judgment  null,  and 
without  sufficient  firmness  even  to  stand  by  the  faith  of  his  word. 
His  Q,ueen,  too,  haughty  and  bearing  no  contradiction,  had  an 
absolute  ascendency  over  him ;  and  around  her  were  rallied  the 
King's  brother  d'Artois,  the  court  generally,  and  the  aristocratic 
part  of  his  Ministers,  particularly  Breteuil,  Broglio,  Yauguyon, 
Foulon,  Luzerne,  men  whose  principles  of  government  were 
those  of  the  age  of  Louis  XIV.  Against  this  host,  the  good 
counsels  of  Necker,  Montmorin,  St.  Priest,  although  in  unison 
with  the  wishes  of  the  King  himself,  were  of  little  avail.  The 
resolutions  of  the  morning,  formed  under  their  advice,  would  be 
reversed  in  the  evening,  by  the  influence  of  the  Queen  and 
court.  But  the  hand  of  heaven  weighed  heavily  indeed  on  the 
machinations  of  this  junto  ;  producing  collateral  incidents,  not 
arising  out  of  the  case,  yet  powerfully  co-exciting  the  nation  to 
force  a  regeneration  of  its  government,  and  overwhelming  with 
accumulated  difficulties,  this  liberticide  resistance.  For,  while 
laboring  under  the  want  of  money  for  even  ordinary  purposes,  in 
a  government  which  required  a  million  of  livres  a  day,  and 
driven  to  the  last  ditch  by  the  universal  call  for  liberty,  there 
came  on  a  winter  of  such  severe  cold,  as  was  without  example  in 
the  memory  of  man,  or  in  the  written  records  of  history.  The 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  89 

Mercury  was  at  times  50°  below  the  freezing  point  of  Faren- 
heit,  and  22°  below  that  of  Reaumur.  All  out-door  labor  was 
suspended,  and  the  poor,  without  the  wages  of  labor,  were,  of 
course,  without  either  bread  or  fuel.  The  government  found  its 
necessities  aggravated  by  that  of  procuring  immense  quantities  of 
fire-wood,  and  of  keeping  great  fires  at  all  the  cross  streets,  around 
which  the  people  gathered  in  crowds,  to  avoid  perishing  with  cold. 
Bread,  too,  was  to  be  bought,  and  distributed  daily,  gratis,  until  a 
relaxation  of  the  season  should  enable  the  people  to  work  ;  and 
the  slender  stock  of  bread  stuff  had  for  some  time  threatened  fam- 
ine, and  had  raised  that  article  to  an  enormous  price.  So  great, 
indeed,  was  the  scarcity  of  bread,  that,  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest  citizen,  the  bakers  were  permitted  to  deal  but  a  scanty  al- 
lowance per  head,  even  to  those  who  paid  for  it ;  and,  in  cards  of 
invitation  to  dine  in  the  richest  houses,  the  guest  was  notified  to 
bring  his  own  bread.  To  eke  out  the  existence  of  the  people, 
every  person  who  had  the  means,  was  called  on  for  a  weekly  sub- 
scription, which  the  Cures  collected,  and  employed  in  providing 
messes  for  the  nourishment  of  the  poor,  and  vied  with  each  other 
in  devising  such  economical  compositions  of  food,  as  would  sub- 
sist the  greatest  number  with  the  smallest  means.  This  want 
of  bread  had  been  foreseen  for  some  time  past,  and  M.  de  Mont- 
morin  had  desired  me  to  notify  it  in  America,  and  that,  in  addition 
to  the  market  price,  a  premium  should  be  given  on  what  should 
be  brought  from  the  United  States.  Notice  was  accordingly 
given,  and  produced  considerable  supplies.  Subsequent  informa- 
tion made  the  importations  from  America,  during  the  months  of 
March,  April  and  May,  into  the  Atlantic  ports  of  France,  amount 
to  about  twenty-one  thousand  barrels  of  flour,  besides  what  went 
to  other  ports,  and  in  other  months ;  while  our  supplies  to  their 
West  Indian  islands  relieved  them  also  from  that  drain.  This 
distress  for  bread  continued  till  July. 

Hitherto  no  acts  of  popular  violence  had  been  produced  by  the 
struggle  for  political  reformation.  Little  riots,  on  ordinary  inci- 
dents, had  taken  place  as  at  other  times,  in  different  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  in  whi~,h  some  lives,  perhaps  a  dozen  or  twenty,  had 


90  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

been  lost ;  but  in  the  month  of  April,  a  more  serious  one  occurred 
in  Paris,  unconnected,  indeed,  with  the  Revolutionary  principle, 
but  making  part  of  the  history  of  the  day.  The  Fauxbourg  St. 
Antoine  is  a  quarter  of  the  city  inhabited  entirely  by  the  class 
of  day  laborers  and  journeymen  in  every  line.  A  rumor  was 
spread  among  them,  that  a  great  paper  manufacturer,  of  the  name 
of  Reveillon,  had  proposed,  on  some  occasion,  that  their  wages 
should  be  lowered  to  fifteen  sous  a  day.  Inflamed  at  once  into 
rage,  and  without  inquiring  into  its  truth,  they  flew  to  his  house 
in  vast  numbers,  destroyed  everything  in  it,  and  in  his  magazines 
and  work-shops,  without  secreting,  however,  a  pin's  worth  to 
themselves,  and  were  continuing  this  work  of  devastation,  when 
the  regular  troops  were  called  in.  Admonitions  being  disregard- 
ed, they  were  of  necessity  fired  on,  and  a  regular  action  ensued, 
in  which  about  one  hundred  of  them  were  killed,  before  the  rest 
would  disperse.  There  had  rarely  passed  a  year  without  such  a 
riot,  in  some  part  or  other  of  the  Kingdom ;  and  this  is  distin- 
guished only  as  cotemporary  with  the  Revolution,  although  not 
produced  by  it. 

The  States  General  were  opened  on  the  5th  of  May,  '89,  by 
speeches  from  the  King,  the  Garde  des  Sceaux,  Lamoignon,  and 
M.  Necker.  The  last  was  thought  to  trip  too  lightly  over  the 
constitutional  reformations  which  were  expected.  His  notices  of 
them  in  this  speech,  were  not  as  full  as  in  his  previous  l  Rapport 
au  Roi.'  This  was  observed,  to  his  disadvantage  ;  but  much  al- 
lowance should  have  been  made  for  the  situation  in  which  he 
was  placed,  between  his  own  counsels,  and  those  of  the  ministers 
and  party  of  the  court.  Overruled  in  his  own  opinions,  compelled 
to  deliver,  and  to  gloss  over  those  of  his  opponents,  and  even  to 
keep  their  secrets,  he  could  not  come  forward  in  his  own  attitude. 

The  composition  of  the  Assembly,  although  equivalent,  on  the 
whole,  to  what  had  been  expected,  was  something  different  in  its 
elements.  It  had  been  supposed,  that  a  superior  education  would 
carry  into  the  scale  of  the  Commons  a  respectable  portion  of  the 
Noblesse.  It  did  so  as  to  those  of  Paris,  of  its  vicinity,  and  of 
the  other  considerable  cities,  whose  greater  intercourse  with  en- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  91 

lightened  society  had  liberalized  their  minds,  and  prepared  them 
to  advance  up  to  the  measure  of  the  times.  But  the  Noblesse  of 
the  country,  which  constituted  two-thirds  of  that  body,  were  far 
in  their  rear.  Residing  constantly  on  their  patrimonial  feuds, 
and  familiarized,  by  daily  habit,  with  Seigneurial  powers  and 
practices,  they  had  not  yet  learned  to  suspect  their  inconsistence 
with  reason  and  right.  They  were  willing  to  submit  to  equality 
of  taxation,  but  not  to  descend  from  their  rank  and  prerogatives 
to  be  incorporated  in  session  with  the  Tiers  etat.  Among  the 
Clergy,  on  the  other  hand,  it  had  been  apprehended  that  the 
higher  orders  of  the  Hierarchy,  by  their  wealth  and  connections, 
would  have  carried  the  elections  generally ;  but  it  turned  out,  that 
in  most  cases,  the  lower  clergy  had  obtained  the  popular  majorities. 
These  consisted  of  the  Cures,  sons  of  the  peasantry,  who  had  been 
employed  to  do  all  the  drudgery  of  parochial  services  for  ten, 
twenty,  or  thirty  Louis  a  year ;  while  their  superiors  were  consum- 
ing their  princely  revenues  in  palaces  of  luxury  and  indolence. 

The  objects  for  which  this  body  was  convened,  being  of  the 
first  order  of  importance,  I  felt  it  very  interesting  to  understand 
the  views  of  the  parties  of  which  it  was  composed,  and  especially 
the  ideas  prevalent  as  to  the  organization  contemplated  for  their 
government.  I  went,  therefore,  daily  from  Paris  to  Versailles, 
and  attended  their  debates,  generally  till  the  hour  of  adjourn- 
ment. Those  of  the  Noblesse  were  impassioned  and  tempestu- 
ous. They  had  some  able  men  on  both  sides,  actuated  by  equal 
zeal.  The  debates  of  the  Commons  were  temperate,  rational, 
and  inflexibly  firm.  As  preliminary  to  all  other  business,  the 
awful  questions  came  on,  shall  the  States  sit  in  one,  or  in  distinct 
apartments  ?  And  shall  they  vote  by  heads  or  houses  ?  The  op- 
position was  soon  found  to  consist  of  the  Episcopal  order  among 
the  clergy,  and  two-thirds  of  the  Noblesse ;  while  the  Tiers  etat 
were,  to  a  man,  united  and  determined.  After  various  proposi- 
tions of  compromise  had  failed,  the  Commons  undertook  to  cut 
the  Gordian  knot.  The  Abbe  Sieyes,  the  most  logical  head  of 
the  nation,  (author  of  the  pamphlet  "  Q-u'est  ce  que  le  Tiers  etat  ?" 
which  had  electrified  that  country,  as  Paine 's  Common  Sense  did 


92  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

us,)  after  an  impressive  speech  on  the  10th  of  June,  moved  that 
i  last  invitation  should  be  sent  to  the  Noblesse  and  Clergy,  to  at- 
tend in  the  hall  of  the  States,  collectively  or  individually,  for  the 
verification  of  powers,  to  which  the  Commons  would  proceed 
immediately,  either  in  their  presence  or  absence.  This  verifica- 
tion being  finished,  a  motion  was  made,  on  the  15th,  that  they 
should  constitute  themselves  a  National  Assembly;  which  was 
decided  on  the  17th,  by  a  majority  of  four-fifths.  During  the 
debates  on  this  question,  about  twenty  of  the  Cures  had  joined 
them,  and  a  proposition  was  made,  in  the  chamber  of  the  Clergy, 
that  their  whole  body  should  join.  This  was  rejected,  at  first, 
by  a  small  majority  only ;  but,  being  afterwards  somewhat  modi- 
fied, it  was  decided  affirmatively,  by  a  majority  of  eleven.  While 
this  was  under  debate,  and  unknown  to  the  court,  to  wit,  on  the 
19th,  a  council  was  held  in  the  afternoon,  at  Marly,  wherein  it 
was  proposed  that  the  King  should  interpose,  by  a  declaration  of 
his  sentiments,  in  a  seance  royale.  A  form  of  declaration  was 
proposed  by  Necker,  which,  while  it  censured,  in  general,  the  pro- 
ceedings, both  of  the  Nobles  and  Commons,  announced  the  King's 
views,  such  as  substantially  to  coincide  with  the  Commons.  It 
was  agreed  to  in  Council,  the  seance  was  fixed  for  the  22d,  the 
meetings  of  the  States  were  till  then  to  be  suspended,  and  every- 
thing, in  the  meantime,  kept  secret.  The  members,  the  next 
morning  (the  20th)  repairing  to  their  house,  as  usual,  found  the 
doors  shut  and  guarded,  a  proclamation  posted  up  for  a  seance 
royale  on  the  22d,  and  a  suspension  of  their  meetings  in  the 
meantime.  Concluding  that  their  dissolution  was  now  to  take 
place,  they  repaired  to  a  building  called  the  "  Jeu  de  paiune  "  (or 
Tennis  court)  and  there  bound  themselves  by  oath  to  each  other, 
never  to  separate,  of  their  own  accord,  till  they  had  settled  a  con- 
stitution for  the  nation,  on  a  solid  basis,  and,  if  separated  by  force, 
that  they  would  reassemble  in  some  other  place.  The  next  day 
they  met  in  the  church  of  St.  Louis,  and  were  joined  by  a  ma- 
jority of  Iho  clergy.  The  heads  of  the  Aristocracy  saw  that  all 
was  lost  without  some  bold  exertion.  The  King  was  still  at 
Marly.  Nobody  was  permitted  to  approach  him  but  their  friends. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  93 

He  was  assailed  by  falsehoods  in  all  shapes.  He  was  made  lo 
believe  that  the  Commons  were  about  to  absolve  the  army  from 
their  oath  of  fidelity  to  him,  and  to  raise  their  pay.  The  court 
party  were  now  all  rage  and  desperation.  They  procured  a  com- 
mittee to  be  held,  consisting  of  the  King  and  his  Ministers,  to 
which  Monsieur  and  the  Count  d'Artois  should  be  admitted.  At 
this  committee,  the  latter  attacked  M.  Necker  personally,  ar- 
raigned his  declaration,  and  proposed  one  which  some  of  his 
prompters  had  put  into  his  hands.  M.  Necker  was  brow-beaten 
and  intimidated,  and  the  King  shaken.  He  determined  that  the 
two  plans  should  be  deliberated  on  the  next  day,  and  the  seance 
royale  put  off  a  day  longer.  This  encouraged  a  fiercer  attack  on 
M.  Necker  the  next  day.  His  draught  of  a  declaration  was  en- 
tirely broken  up,  and  that  of  the  Count  d'Artois  inserted  into  it, 
Himself  and  Montmorin  offered  their  resignation,  which  was  re- 
fused ;  the  Count  d'Artois  saying  to  M.  Necker,  "  No  sir,  you 
must  be  kept  as  the  hostage ;  we  hold  you  responsible  for  all  the 
ill  which  shall  happen."  This  change  of  plan  was  immediately 
whispered  without  doors.  The  Noblesse  were  in  triumph ;  the 
people  in  consternation.  I  was  quite  alarmed  at  this  state  of  « 
things.  The  soldiery  had  not  yet  indicated  which  side  they 
should  take,  and  that  which  they  should  support  would  be  sure 
to  prevail.  I  considered  a  successful  reformation  of  government 
in  France,  as  insuring  a  general  reformation  through  Europe,  and 
the  resurrection,  to  a  new  life,  of  their  people,  now  ground  to  dust  * 
by  the  abuses  of  the  governing  powers.  I  was  much  acquainted 
with  the  leading  patriots  of  the  Assembly.  Being  from  a  country 
which  had  successfully  passed  through  a  similar  reformation,  they 
were  disposed  to  my  acquaintance,  and  had  some  confidence  in 
me.  I  urged,  most  strenuously,  an  immediate  compromise ;  to 
secure  what  the  government  was  now  ready  to  yield,  and  trust  to 
future  occasions  for  what  might  still  be  wanting.  It  was  well 
understood  that  the  King  would  grant,  at  this  time,  1.  Freedom 
of  the  person  by  Habeas  corpus :  2.  Freedom  of  conscience  :  3. 
Freedom  of  the  press :  4.  Trial  by  jury :  5.  A  representative  Leg- 
islature :  6.  Annual  meetings :  7.  The  origination  of  laws :  8. 


94  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

The  exclusive  right  of  taxation  and  appropriation :  and  9.  The 
responsibility  of  Ministers ;  and  with  the  exercise  of  these  powers 
they  could  obtain,  in  future,  whatever  might  be  further  necessary 
to  improve  and  preserve  their  constitution.  They  thought  other- 
wise, however,  and  events  have  proved  their  lamentable  error. 
For,  after  thirty  years  of  war,  foreign  and  domestic,  the  loss  of 
millions  of  lives,  the  prostration  of  private  happiness,  and  the 
foreign  subjugation  of  their  own  country  for  a  time,  they  have 
obtained  no  more,  nor  even  that  securely.  They  were  uncon- 
scious of  (for  who  could  foresee?)  the  melancholy  sequel  of  their 
well-meant  perseverance ;  that  their  physical  force  would  be 
usurped  by  a  first  tyrant  to  trample  on  the  independence,  and 
even  the  existence,  of  other  nations :  that  this  would  afford  a  fatal 
example  for  the  atrocious  conspiracy  of  Kings  against  their  people  ; 
would  generate  their  unholy  and  homicide  alliance  to  make  com- 
mon cause  among  themselves,  and  to  crush,  by  the  power  of  the 
whole,  the  efforts  of  any  part  to  moderate  their  abuses  and  op- 
pressions. . 

When  the  King  passed,  the  next  day,  through  the  lane  formed 
from  the  Chateau  to  the  "  Hotel  des  etats,"  there  was  a  dead  si- 
lence. He  was  about  an  hour  in  the  House,  delivering  his  speech 
and  declaration.  On  his  coming  out,  a  feeble  cry  of  "  vive  le  Roi" 
was  raised  by  some  children,  but  the  people  remained  silent  and 
sullen.  In  the  close  of  his  speech,  he  had  ordered  that  the  mem- 
bers should  follow  him,  and  resume  their  deliberations  the  next 
day.  The  Noblesse  followed  him,  and  so  did  the  Clergy,  except 
about  thirty,  who,  with  the  Tiers,  remained  in  the  room,  and  en- 
tered into  deliberation.  They  protested  against  what  the  King  had 
done,  adhered  to  all  their  former  proceedings,  and  resolved  the 
inviolability  of  their  own  persons.  An  officer  came,  to  order  them 
out  of  the  room  in  the  King's  name.  "  Tell  those  who  sent  you," 
said  Mirabeau,  "  that  we  shall  not  move  hence  but  at  our  own  will, 
or  the  point  of  the  bayonet."  In  the  afternoon,  the  people,  uneasy, 
began  to  assemble  in  great  numbers  in  the  courts,  and  vicinities 
of  the  palace.  This  produced  alarm.  The  Queen  sent  for  M. 
Necker.  He  was  conducted,  amidst  the  shouts  and  acclamations 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  95 

of  the  multitude,  who  filled  all  the  apartments  of  the  palace.  He 
was  a  few  minutes  only  with  the  Queen,  and  what  passed  between 
them  did  not  transpire.  The  King  went  out  to  ride.  He  passed 
through  the  crowd  to  his  carriage,  and  into  it,  without  being  in  the 
least  noticed.  As  M.  Necker  followed  him,  universal  acclama- 
tions were  raised  of  "  vive  Monsier  Necker,  vive  le  sauveur  de  la 
France  opprimce."  He  was  conducted  back  to  his  house  with 
the  same  demonstrations  of  affection  and  anxiety.  About  two  hun- 
dred deputies  of  the  Tiers,  catching  the  enthusiasm  of  the  mo- 
ment, went  to  his  house,  and  extorted  from  him  a  promise  that  he 
would  not  resign.  On  the  25th,  forty-eight  of  the  Nobles  joined 
the  Tiers,  and  among  them  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  There  were 
then  with  them  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  members  of  the  Clergy, 
although  the  minority  of  that  body  still  sat  apart,  and  called  them- 
selves the  Chamber  of  the  Clergy.  On  the  26th,  the  Archbishop 
of  Paris  joined  the  Tiers,  as  did  some  others  of  the  Clergy  and 
of  the  Noblesse. 

These  proceedings  had  thrown  the  people  into  violent  ferment. 
It  gained  the  soldiery,  first  of  the  French  guards,  extended  to 
those  of  every  other  denomination,  except  the  Swiss,  and  even  to 
the  body  guards  of  the  King.  They  began  to  quit  their  barracks, 
to  assemble  in  squads,  to  declare  they  would  defend  the  life  of  the 
King,  but  would  not  be  the  murderers  of  their  fellow-citizens. 
They  called  themselves  the  soldiers  of  the  nation,  and  left  now  no 
doubt  on  which  side  they  would  be,  in  case  of  rupture.  Similar 
accounts  came  in  from  the  troops  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
giving  good  reason  to  believe  they  would  side  with  their  fathers 
and  brothers,  rather  than  with  their  officers.  The  operation  of 
this  medicine  at  Versailles  was  as  sudden  as  it  was  powerful. 
The  alarm  there  was  so  complete,  that  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
27th,  the  King  wrote,  with  his  own  hand,  letters  to  the  Presidents 
of  the  Clergy  and  Nobles,  engaging  them  immediately  to  join  the 
Tiers.  These  two  bodies  were  debating,  and  hesitating,  when 
notes  from  the  Count  d'Artois  decided  their  compliance.  They 
went  in  a  body,  and  took  their  seats  with  the  Tiers,  and  thus 
rendered  the  union  of  the  orders  in  one  chamber  complete. 


96  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

The  Assembly  now  entered  on  the  business  of  their  mission, 
and  first  proceeded  to  arrange  the  order  in  which  they  would  take 
up  the  heads  of  their  constitution,  as  follows : 

First,  and  as  Preliminary  to  the  whole,  a  general  Declaration 
of  the  Rights  of  Man.  Then,  specifically,  the  Principles  of  the 
Monarchy ;  Rights  of  the  Nation ;  rights  of  the  King  ;  rights  of  the 
Citizens ;  organization  and  rights  of  the  National  Assembly  ;  forms 
necessary  for  the  enactment  of  Laws  ;  organization  and  functions 
of  the  Provincial  and  Municipal  Assemblies ;  duties  and  limits  of 
the  Judiciary  power ;  functions  and  duties  of  the  Military  power. 

A  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man,  as  the  preliminary  of  their 
work,  was  accordingly  prepared  and  proposed  by  the  Marquis  de 
La  Fayette. 

But  the  quiet  of  their  march  was  soon  disturbed  by  information 
that  troops,  and  particularly  the  foreign  troops,  were  advancing  on 
Paris  from  various  quarters.  The  King  had  probably  been  ad- 
vised to  this,  on  the  pretext  of  preserving  peace  in  Paris.  But 
his  advisers  were  believed  to  have  other  things  in  contemplation. 
The  Marshal  de  Broglio  was  appointed  to  their  command,  a  high- 
flying aristocrat,  cool  and  capable  of  everything.  Some  of  the 
French  guards  were  soon  arrested,  under  other  pretexts,  but  really, 
on  account  of  their  dispositions  in  favor  of  the  National  cause. 
The  people  of  Paris  forced  their  prison,  liberated  them,  and  sent 
a  deputation  to  the  Assembly  to  solicit  a  pardon.  The  Assembly 
recommended  peace  and  order  to  the  people  of  Paris,  the  prison- 
ers to  the  King,  and  asked  from  him  the  removal  of  the  troops. 
His  answer  was  negative  and  dry,  saying  they  might  remove  them- 
selves, if  they  pleased,  to  Noyons  or  Soissons.  In  the  meantime, 
these  troops,  to  the  number  of  twenty  or  thirty  thousand,  had  ar- 
rived, and  were  posted  in,  and  between  Paris  and  Versailles.  The 
bridges  and  passes  were  guarded.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  llth  of  July,  the  Count  de  La  Luzerne  was  sent  to  notify 
M.  Necker  of  his  dismission,  and  to  enjoin  him  to  retire  instantly, 
without  saying  a  word  of  it  to  anybody.  He  went  home,  dined, 
and  proposed  to  his  wife  a  visit  to  a  friend,  but  went  in  fact  to  his 
country  house  at  St.  Ouen,  and  at  midnight  set  out  frr  Brussels. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  97 

This  was  not  known  till  the  next  day  (the  12th,)  when  the  whole 
Ministry  was  changed,  except  Villedeuil,  of  the  domestic  depart- 
ment, and  Barenton,  Garde  des  sceaux.  The  changes  were  as 
follows : 

The  Baron  de  Breteuil,  President  of  the  Council  of  Finance  ; 
de  la  Galaisiere,  Comptroller  General,  in  the  room  of  M.  Necker ; 
the  Marshal  de  Broglio,  Minister  of  War,  and  Foulon  under  him, 
in  the  room  of  Puy-Segur ;  the  Duke  de  la  Vauguyon,  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  instead  of  the  Count  de  Montmorin  ;  de  La 
Porte,  Minister  of  Marine,  in  place  of  the  Count  de  La  Luzerne  ; 
St.  Priest  was  also  removed  from  the  Council.  Luzerne  and 
Puy-Segur  had  been  strongly  of  the  Aristocratic  party  in  the 
Council,  hut  they  were  not  considered  equal  to  the  work  now  to 
be  done.  The  King  was  now  completely  in  the  hands  of  men, 
the  principal  among  whom  had  been  noted,  through  their  lives, 
for  the  Turkish  despotism  of  their  characters,  and  who  were  as- 
sociated around  the  King,  as  proper  instruments  for  what  was  to 
be  executed.  The  news  of  this  change  began  to  be  known  at 
Paris,  about  one  or  two  o'clock.  In  the  afternoon,  a  body  of 
about  one  hundred  German  cavalry  were  advanced,  and  drawn  up 
in  the  Place  Louis  XV.,  and  about  two  hundred  Swiss  posted  at 
a  little  distance  in  their  rear.  This  drew  people  to  the  spot,  who 
thus  accidentally  found  themselves  in  front  of  the  troops,  merely 
at  first  as  spectators ;  but,  as  their  numbers  increased,  their  indig- 
nation rose.  They  retired  a  few  steps,  and  posted  themselves  on 
and  behind  large  piles  of  stones,  large  and  small,  collected  in  that 
place  for  a  bridge,  which  was  to  be  built  adjacent  to  it.  In  this 
position,  happening  to  be  in  my  carriage  on  a  visit,  I  passed  through 
the  lane  they  had  formed,  without  interruption.  But  the  moment 
after  I  had  passed,  the  people  attacked  the  cavalry  with  stones. 
They  charged,  but  the  advantageous  position  of  the  people,  and 
the  showers  of  stones,  obliged  the  horse  to  retire,  and  quit  the 
field  altogether,  leaving  one  of  their  number  on  the  ground,  and 
the  Swiss  in  the  rear  not  moving  to  their  aid.  This  was  the  signal 
for  universal  insurrection,  arid  this  body  of  cavalry,  to  avoid  being 
massacred,  retired  towards  Versailles.  The  people  now  armed 

VOL.  i.  7 


98  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

themselves  with  such  weapons  as  they  could  find  in  armorer's 
shops,  and  private  houses,  and  with  bludgeons ;  and  were  roaming 
all  night,  through  all  parts  of  the  city,  without  any  decided  object. 
The  next  day  (the  13th,)  the  Assembly  pressed  on  the  King  to 
send  away  the  troops,  to  permit  the  Bourgeoisie  of  Paris  to  arm  for 
the  preservation  of  order  in  the  city,  and  offered  to  send  a  depu- 
tation from  their  body  to  tranquillize  them ;  but  their  propositions 
were  refused.  A  committee  of  magistrates  and  electors  of  the 
city  were  appointed  by  those  bodies,  to  take  upon  them  its  govern- 
ment. The  people,  now  openly  joined  by  the  French  guards,  forced 
the  prison  of  St.  Lazare,  released  all  the  prisoners,  and  took  a  great 
store  of  corn,  which  they  carried  to  the  corn-market.  Here  they 
got  some  arms,  and  the  French  guards  began  to  form  and  train 
them.  The  city-committee  determined  to  raise  forty-eight  thou- 
sand Bourgeoise,  or  rather  to  restrain  their  numbers  to  forty-eight 
thousand.  On  the  14th,  they  sent  one  of  their  members  (Mon- 
sieur de  Corny)  to  the  Hotel  des  Invalides,  to  ask  arms  for  their 
Garde  Bourgeoise.  He  was  followed  by,  and  he  found  there,  a 
great  collection  of  people.  The  Governor  of  the  Invalids  came 
out,  and  represented  the  impossibility  of  his  delivering  arms,  with- 
out the  orders  of  those  from  whom  he  received  them.  De  Corny 
advised  the  people  then  to  retire,  and  retired  himself;  but  the 
people  took  possession  of  the  arms.  It  was  remarkable,  that  not 
only  the  Invalids  themselves  made  no  opposition,  but  that  a  body 
of  five  thousand  foreign  troops,  within  four  hundred  yards,  never 
stirred.  M.  de  Corny,  and  five  others,  were  then  sent  to  ask  arms 
of  M.  de  Launay,  Governor  of  the  Bastile.  They  found  a  great 
collection  of  people  already  before  the  place,  and  they  immedi- 
ately planted  a  flag  of  truce,  which  was  answered  by  a  like  flag 
hoisted  on  the  parapet.  The  deputation  prevailed  on  the  people  to 
fall  back  a  little,  advanced  themselves  to  make  their  demand  of  the 
Governor,  and  in  that  instant,  a  discharge  from  the  Bastile  killed 
four  persons  of  those  nearest  to  the  deputies.  The  deputies  retired. 
I  happened  to  be  at  the  house  of  M.  de  Corny,  when  he  returned 
to  it,  and  received  from  him  a  narrative  of  these  transactions.  On 
the  retirement  of  the  deputies,  the  people  rushed  forward,  and 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  99 

almost  in  an  instant,  were  in  possession  of  a  fortification  of  infinite 
strength,  defended  by  one  hundred  men,  which  in  other  times  had 
stood  several  regular  sieges,  and  had  never  been  taken.  How 
they  forced  their  entrance  has  never  been  explained.  They  took 
all  the  arms,  discharged  the  prisoners,  and  such  of  the  garrison  as 
were  not  killed  in  the  first  moment  of  fury  ;  carried  the  Governor 
and  Lieutenant  Governor,  to  the  Place  de  Greve,  (the  place  of 
public  execution,)  cut  off  their  heads,  and  sent  them  through  the 
city,  in  triumph,  to  the  Palais  royal.  About  the  same  instant,  a 
treacherous  correspondence  having  been  discovered  in  M.  de 
Flesselles,  Prevot  des  Marchands,  they  seized  him  in  the  Hotel  de 
Ville,  where  he  was  in  the  execution  of  his  office,  and  cut  off 
his  head.  These  events,  carried  imperfectly  to  Versailles,  were 
the  subject  of  two  successive  deputations  from  the  Assembly  to 
the  King,  to  both  of  which  he  gave  dry  and  hard  answers  ;  for 
nobody  had  as  yet  been  permitted  to  inform  him,  truly  and  fully, 
of  what  had  passed  at  Paris.  But  at  night,  the  Duke  de  Lian- 
court  forced  his  way  into  the  King's  bed  chamber,  and  obliged 
him  to  hear  a  full  and  animated  detail  of  the  disasters  of  the  day 
in  Paris.  He  went  to  bed  fearfully  impressed.  The  decapi- 
tation of  de  Launay  worked  powerfully  through  the  night  on  the 
whole  Aristocratic  party  ;  insomuch,  that  in  the  morning,  those 
of  the  greatest  influence  on  the  Count  d'Artois,  represented  to  him 
the  absolute  necessity  that  the  King  should  give  up  everything  to 
the  Assembly.  This  according  with  the  dispositions  of  the  King, 
he  went  about  eleven  o'clock,  accompanied  only  by  his  brothers, 
to  the  Assembly,  and  there  read  to  them  a  speech,  in  which  he 
asked  their  interposition  to  re-establish  order.  Although  couched 
in  terms  of  some  caution,  yet  the  manner  in  which  it  was  delivered, 
made  it  evident  that  it  was  meant  as  a  surrender  at  discretion.  He 
returned  to  the  Chateau  a  foot,  accompanied  by  the  Assembly. 
They  sent  off  a  deputation  to  quiet  Paris,  at  the  head  of  which  was 
the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  who  had,  the  same  morning,  been 
named  Commandant  en  chef  of  the  Milice  Bourgeoise  ;  and  Mon- 
sieur Bailly,  former  President  of  the  States  General,  was  called  for 
as  Prevot  des  Marchands.  The  demolition  of  the  Bastile  was  now 


100  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

ordered  and  begun.  A  body  of  the  Swiss  guards,  of  the  regi- 
ment of  Ventimille,  and  the  city  horse  guards  joined  the  people. 
The  alarm  at  Versailles  increased.  The  foreign  troops  were  or- 
dered off  instantly.  Every  Minister  resigned.  The  King  con- 
firmed Bailly  as  Prevot  des  Marchands,  wrote  to  M.  Necker,  to 
recall  him,  sent  his  letter  open  to  the  Assembly,  to  be  forwarded 
by  them,  and  invited  them  to  go  with  him  to  Paris  the  next  day, 
to  satisfy  the  city  of  his  dispositions ;  and  that  night,  and  the  next 
morning,  the  Count  d'Artois,  and  M.  de  Montesson,  a  deputy  con- 
nected with  him,  Madame  de  Polignac,  Madame  de  Guiche,  and 
the  Count  de  Vaudreuil,  favorites  of  the  Queen,  the  Abbe  de  Ver- 
mont her  confessor,  the  Prince  of  Conde,  and  Duke  of  Bourbon  fled. 
The  King  came  to  Paris,  leaving  the  dueen  in  consternation  for 
his  return.  Omitting  the  less  important  figures  of  the  procession, 
the  King's  carriage  was  in  the  centre  ;  on  each  side  of  it,  the  As- 
sembly, in  two  ranks  a  foot ;  at  their  head  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette, 
as  Commander-in-chief,  on  horseback,  and  Bourgeois  guards  be- 
fore and  behind.  About  sixty  thousand  citizens,  of  all  forms  and 
conditions,  armed  with  the  conquests  of  the  Bastile  and  Invalids, 
as  far  as  they  would  go,  the  rest  with  pistols,  swords,  pikes,  prim- 
ing-hooks, scythes,  &c.,  lined  all  the  streets  through  which  the 
procession  passed,  and  with  the  crowds  of  people  in  the  streets, 
doors,  and  windows,  saluted  them  everywhere  with  the  cries  of 
"  vive  la  nation,"  but  not  a  single  "  vive  le  Roi"  was  heard.  The 
King  stopped  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  There  M.  Bailly  presented, 
and  put  into  his  hat,  the  popular  cockade,  and  addressed  him. 
The  King  being  unprepared,  and  unable  to  answer,  Bailly  went 
to  him,  gathered  from  him  some  scraps  of  sentences,  and  made 
out  an  answer,  which  he  delivered  to  the  audience,  as  from  the 
King.  On  their  return,  the  popular  cries  were  "  vive  le  Roi  et  la 
nation."  He  was  conducted  by  a  garde  Bourgeoise  to  his  palace 
at  Versailles,  and  thus  concluded  an  "  amende  honorable,"  as  no 
sovereign  ever  made,  and  no  people  ever  received. 

And  here,  again,  was  lost  another  precious  occasion  of  sparing 
to  France  the  crimes  and  cruelties  through  which  she  has  since 
passed,  and  to  Europe,  and  finally  America,  the  evils  which 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  ,101 

flowed  on  them  also  from  this  mortal  source.  The  King  was 
now  become  a  passive  machine  in  the  hands  of  the  National  C 
Assembly,  and  had  he  been  left  to  himself,  he  would  have 
willingly  acquiesced  in  whatever  they  should  devise  as  best  for 
the  nation.  A  wise  constitution  would  have  been  formed,  hered- 
itary in  his  line,  himself  placed  at  its  head,  with  powers  so 
large  as  to  enable  him  to  do  all  the  good  of  his  station,  and  so 
limited,  as  to  restrain  him  from  its  abuse.  This  he  would  have 
faithfully  administered,  and  more  than  this,  I  do  not  believe,  he 
ever  wished.  But-  he  had  a  Queen  of  absolute  sway  over  his 
weak  mind  and  timid  virtue,  and  of  a  character  the  reverse  of 
his  in  all  points.  This  angel,  as  gaudily  painted  in  the  rhapso-  • 
dies  of  Burke,  with  some  smartness  of  fancy,  but  no  sound  sense, 
was  proud,  disdainful  of  restraint,  indignant  at  all  obstacles  to 
her  will,  eager  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure,  and  firm  enough  to  hold 
to  her  desires,  or  perish  in  their  wreck.  Her  inordinate  gambling 
and  dissipations,  with  those  of  the  Count  d'Artois,  and  others  of 
her  clique,  had  been  a  sensible  item  in  the  exhaustion  of  the 
treasury,  which  called  into  action  the  reforming  hand  of  the  na- 
tion ;  and  her  opposition  to  it,  her  inflexible  perverseness,  and 
dauntless  spirit,  led  herself  to  the  Guillotine,  drew  the  King  on 
with  her,  and  plunged  the  world  into  crimes  and  calamities  which 
will  forever  stain  the  pages  of  modern  history.  I  have  ever  be- 
lieved, that  had  there  been  no  Queen,  there  would  have  been  no 
revolution.  No  force  would  have  been  provoked,  nor  exercised. 
The  King  would  have  gone  hand  in  hand  with  the  wisdom  of 
his  sounder  counsellors,  who,  guided  by  the  increased  lights  of 
the  age,  wished  only,  with  the  same  pace,  to  advance  the  princi-  7 
pies  of  their  social  constitution.  The  deed  which  closed  the 
mortal  course  of  these  sovereigns,  I  shall  neither  approve  nor  con- 
demn. I  am  not  prepared  to  say,  that  the  first  magistrate  of  a 
nation  cannot  commit  treason  against  his  country,  or  is  unamena- 
ble to  its  punishment ;  nor  yet,  that  where  there  is  no  written 
law,  no  regulated  tribunal,  there  is  not  a  law  in  our  hearts,  and  a  ' 
power  in  our  hands,  given  for  righteous  employment  in  maintain- 
ing right,  and  redressing  wrong.  Of  those  who  judged  the  King, 


102  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

many  thought  him  wilfully  criminal ;  many,  that  his  existence 

•  would  keep  the  nation  in  perpetual  conflict  with  the  horde  of 
Kings  who  would  war  against  a  generation  which  might  come 
home  to  themselves,  and  that  it  were  better  that  one  should  die 
than  all.     I  should  not  have  voted  with  this  portion  of  the  legis- 
ture.     I  should  have  shut  up  the  Queen,  in  a  convent,  putting 
harm  out  of  her  power,  and  placed  the  King  in  his  station,  in- 
vesting him  with  limited  powers,  which,  I  verily  believe,  he 
would  have  honestly  exercised,  according  to  the  measure  of  his 
understanding.     In  this  way,  no  void  would  have  been  created, 
courting  the  usurpation  of  a  military  adventurer,  nor  occasion 
given  for  those  enormities  which  demoralized  the  nations  of  the 
world,  and  destroyed,  and  is  yet  to  destroy,  millions  and  millions 
of  its  inhabitants.     There  are  three  epochs  in  history,  signalized 

•  by  the  total  extinction  of  national  morality.     The  first  was  of 
the  successors  of  Alexander,  not  omitting  himself:   The  next, 
the  successors  of  the  first  Caesar :  The  third,  our  own  age.     This 
was  begun  by  the  partition  of  Poland,  followed  by  that  of  the 
treaty  of  Pilnitz ;  next  the  conflagration  of  Copenhagen ;  then 
the  enormities  of  Bonaparte,  partitioning  the  earth  at  his  will,  and 
devastating  it  with  fire  and  sword  ;  now  the  conspiracy  of  Kings, 
the  successors  of  Bonaparte,  blasphemously  calling  themselves 
the  Holy  Alliance,  and  treading  in  the  footsteps  of  their  incarcer- 
ated leader ;  not  yet,  indeed,  usurping  the  government  of  other 
nations,  avowedly  and  in  detail,  but  controlling  by  their  armies 
the  forms  in  which  they  will  permit  them  to  be  governed ;  and 
reserving,  in  petto,   the    order  and   extent    of  the    usurpations 
further  meditated.     Bat  I  will  return  from  a  digression,  antici- 
pated, too,  in  time,  into  which  I  have  been  led  by  reflection  on 

,    the  criminal  passions  which  refused  to  the  world  a  favorable  oc- 
casion of  saving  it  from  the  afflictions  it  has  since  sutfered. 

M.  Necker  had  reached  Basle  before  he  was  overtaken  by 
the  letter  of  the  King,  inviting  him  back  to  resume  the  office 
he  had  recently  left.  He  returned  immediately,  and  all  the 
other  Ministers  having  resigned,  a  new  administration  was 
named,  to  wit :  St.  Priest  arid  Montmorin  were  restored ;  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  103 

Archbishop  of  Bordeaux  was  appointed  Garde  des  sceaux,  La 
Tour  du  Pin,  Minister  of  War ;  La  Luzerne,  Minister  of  Marine. 
This  last  was  believed  to  have  been  effected  by  the  friendship 
of  Montmorin  ;  for  although  differing  in  politics,  they  continued 
firm  in  friendship,  and  Luzerne,  although  not  an  able  man,  was 
thought  an  honest  one.  And  the  Prince  of  Bauvau  was  taken 
into  the  Council. 

Seven  Princes  of  the  blood  Royal,  six  ex-Ministers,  and  many 
of  the  high  Noblesse,  having  fled,  and  the  present  Ministers, 
except  Luzerne,  being  all  of  the  popular  party,  all  the  functiona- 
ries of  government  moved,  for  the  present,  in  perfect  harmony. 

In  the  evening  of  August  the  4th,  and  on  the  motion  of  the 
Viscount  de  Noailles,  brother  in  law  of  La  Fayette,  the  Assem- 
bly abolished  all  titles  of  rank,  all  the  abusive  privileges  of  feu- 
dalism, the  tithes  and  casuals  of  the  Clergy,  all  Provincial 
privileges,  and,  in  fine,  the  Feudal  regimen  generally.  To  the 
suppression  of  tithes,  the  Abbe  Sieves  was  vehemently  oppos- 
ed ;  but  his  learned  and  logical  arguments  were  unheeded,  and 
his  estimation  lessened  by  a  contrast  of  his  egoism  (for  he  was 
beneficed  on  them),  with  the  generous  abandonment  of  rights 
by  the  other  members  of  the  Assembly.  Many  days  were  em- 
ployed in  putting  into  the  form  of  laws,  the  numerous  demoli- 
tions of  ancient  abuses ;  which  done,  they  proceeded  to  the 
preliminary  work  of  a  Declaration  of  rights.  There  being 
much  concord  of  sentiment  on  the  elements  of  this  instrument, 
it  was  liberally  framed,  and  passed  with  a  very  general  appro- 
bation. They  then  appointed  a  Committee  for  the  "  reduction 
of  a  projet"  of  a  constitution,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the 
Archbishop  of  Bordeaux.  I  received  from  him,  as  chairman  of 
the  Committee,  a  letter  of  July  20th,  requesting  me  to  attend 
and  assist  at  their  deliberations  ;  but  I  excused  myself,  on  the 
obvious  considerations,  that  my  mission  was  to  the  King  as 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation,  that  my  duties  were  limited  to 
the  concerns  of  my  own  country,  and  forbade  me  to  intermed- 
dle with  the  internal  transactions  of  that,  in  which  I  had  been 
received  under  a  specific  character  only.  Their  plan  of  a  con- 


104  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

stitution  was  discussed  in  sections,  and  so  reported  from  time 
to  time,  as  agreed  to  by  the  Committee.  The  first  respected 
the  general  frame  of  the  government ;  and  that  this  should  be 
formed  into  three  departments,  Executive,  Legislative  and  Ju- 
diciary, was  generally  agreed.  But  when  they  proceeded  to 
subordinate  developments,  many  and  Various  shades  of  opinion 
came  into  conflict,  and  schism,  strongly  marked,  broke  the  Pa- 
triots into  fragments  of  very  discordant  principles.  The  first 
question,  Whether  there  should  be  a  King  ?  met  with  no  open 
opposition  ;  and  it  was  readily  agreed,  that  the  government  of 
France  should  be  monarchical  and  hereditary.  Shall  the  King 
have  a  negative  on  the  laws  ?  shall  that  negative  be  absolute, 
or  suspensive  only  ?  Shall  there  be  two  Chambers  of  Legisla- 
tion ?  or  one  only  ?  If  two,  shall  one  of  them  be  hereditary  ? 
or  for  life  ?  or  for  a  fixed  term  ?  and  named  by  the  King  ?  or 
elected  by  the  people  ?  These  questions  found  strong  differ- 
ences of  opinion,  and  produced  repulsive  combinations  among 
the  Patriots.  The  Aristocracy  was  cemented  by  a  common 
principle,  of  preserving  the  ancient  regime,  or  whatever  should 
be  nearest  to  it.  Making  this  their  polar  star,  they  moved  in 
phalanx,  gave  preponderance  on  every  question  to  the  minorities 
of  the  Patriots,  and  always  to  those  who  advocated  the  least 
change.  The  features  of  the  new  constitution  were  thus  as- 
suming a  fearful  aspect,  and  great  alarm  was  produced  among 
the  honest  Patriots  by  these  dissensions  in  their  ranks.  In  this 
uneasy  state  of  things,  I  received  one  day  a  note  from  the  Mar- 
quis de  La  Fayette,  informing  me  that  he  should  bring  a  party 
of  six  or  eight  friends  to  ask  a  dinner  of  me  the  next  day.  I 
assured  him  of  their  welcome.  When  they  arrived,  they  were 
La  Fayette  himself,  Duport,  Barnave,  Alexander  la  Meth, 
Blacon,  Mounier,  Maubourg,  and  Dagout.  These  were  leading 
Patriots,  of  honest  but  differing  opinions,  sensible  of  the  neces- 
sity of  effecting  a  coalition  by  mutual  sacrifices,  knowing  each 
other,  and  not  afraid,  therefore,  to  unbosom  themselves  mutu- 
ally. This  last  was  a  material  principle  in  the  selection.  With 
this  view,  the  Marquis  had  in  /ited  the  conference,  and  had  fixed 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  105 

the  time  and  place  inadvertently,  as  to  the  embarrassment  under 
which  it  might  place  me.  The  cloth  being  removed,  and  wine 
set  on  the  table,  after  the  American  manner,  the  Marquis  intro- 
duced the  objects  of  the  conference,  by  summarily  reminding 
them  of  the  state  of  things  in  the  Assembly,  the  course  which 
the  principles  of  the  Constitution  were  taking,  and  the  inevita- 
ble result,  unless  checked  by  more  concord  among  the  Patriots 
themselves.  He  observed,  that  although  he  also  had  his 
opinion,  he  was  ready  to  sacrifice  it  to  that  of  his  brethren  of 
the  same  cause  ;  but  that  a  common  opinion  must  now  be 
formed,  or  the  Aristocracy  would  carry  everything,  and  that, 
whatever  they  should  now  agree  on,  he,  at  the  head  of  the  Na- 
tional force,  would  maintain.  The  discussions  began  at  the 
hour  of  four,  and  were  continued  till  ten  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing ;  during  which  time,  I  was  a  silent  witness  to  a  coolness 
and  candor  of  argument,  unusual  in  the  conflicts  of  political 
opinion  ;  to  a  logical  reasoning,  and  chaste  eloquence,  disfigured 
by  no  gaudy  tinsel  of  rhetoric  or  declamation,  and  truly  worthy 
of  being  placed  in  parallel  with  the  finest  dialogues  of  antiquity, 
as  handed  to  us  by  Xenophon,  by  Plato  and  Cicero.  The  re- 
sult was,  that  the  King  should  have  a  suspensive  veto  on  the 
laws,  that  the  legislature  should  be  composed  of  a  single  body 
only,  and  that  to  be  chosen  by  the  people.  This  Concordate 
decided  the  fate  of  the  constitution.  The  Patriots  all  rallied  to 
the  principles  thus  settled,  carried  every  question  agreeably  to 
them,  and  reduced  the  Aristocracy  to  insignificance  and  impo- 
tence. But  duties  of  exculpation  were  now  incumbent  on  me. 
I  waited  on  Count  Montmorin  the  next  morning,  and  explained 
to  him,  with  truth  and  candor,  how  it  had  happened  that  my 
house  had  been  made  the  scene  of  conferences  of  such  a  char- 
acter. He  told  me,  he  already  knew  everything  which  had 
passed,  that  so  far  from  taking  umbrage  at  the  use  made  of  my 
house  on  that  occasion,  he  earnestly  wished  I  would  habitually 
assist  at  such  conferences,  being  sure  I  should  be  useful  in 
moderating  the  warmer  spirits,  and  promoting  a  wholesome  and 
practicable  reformation  only.  I  told  him,  I  knew  too  well  the 


106  JEFFEBSON'S    WOEKS. 

duties  I  owed  to  the  King,  to  the  nation,  and  to  my  own  coun- 
try, to  take  any  part  in  councils  concerning  their  internal  gov- 
ernment, and  that  I  should  persevere,  with  care,  in  the  charac- 
ter of  a  neutral  and  passive  spectator,  with  wishes  only,  and 
very  sincere  ones,  that  those  measures  might  prevail  which 
would  be  for  the  greatest  good  of  the  nation.  I  have  no  doubts, 
indeed,  that  this  conference  was  previously  known  and  ap- 
proved by  this  honest  Minister,  who  was  in  confidence  and 
communication  with  the  Patriots,  and  wished  for  a  reasonable 
reform  of  the  Constitution. 

Here  I  discontinue  my  relation  of  the  French  Revolution. 
The  minuteness  with  which  I  have  so  far  given  its  details,  is 
disproportioned  to  the  general  scale  of  my  narrative.  But  I 
have  thought  it  justified  by  the  interest  which  the  whole  world 
must  take  in  this  Revolution.  As  yet,  we  are  but  in  the  first 
chapter  of  its  history.  The  appeal  to  the  rights  of  man,  which 
had  been  made  in  the  United  States,  was  taken  up  by  France, 
first  of  the  European  nations.  From  her,  the  spirit  has  spread 
over  those  of  the  South.  The  tyrants  of  the  North  have  allied 
indeed  against  it;  but  it  is  irresistible.  Their  opposition  will 
only  multiply  its  millions  of  human  victims  ;  their  own  satellites 
will  catch  it,  and  the  condition  of  man  through  the  civilized 
world,  will  be  finally  and  greatly  ameliorated.  This  is  a  won- 
derful instance  of  great  events  from  small  causes.  So  inscru- 
table is  the  arrangement  of  causes  and  consequences  in  this 
world,  that  a  two-penny  duty  on  tea,  unjustly  imposed  in  a  se- 
questered part  of  it,  changes  the  condition  of  all  its  inhabitants. 
I  have  been  more  minute  in  relating  the  early  transactions  of 
this  regeneration,  because  I  was  in  circumstances  peculiarly 
favorable  for  a  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Possessing  the  con- 
fidence and  intimacy  of  the  leading  Patriots,  and  more  than  all, 
of  the  Marquis  Fayette,  their  head  and  Atlas,  who  had  no  secrets 
from  me,  I  learned  with  correctness  the  views  and  proceedings 
of  that  party  ;  while  my  intercourse  with  the  diplomatic  mis- 
sionaries of  Europe  at  Paris,  all  of  them  with  the  court,  and 
eager  in  prying  into  its  councils  and  proceedings,  gave  rne  a 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  107 

knowledge  of  these  also.  My  information  was  always,  and  im- 
mediately committed  to  writing,  in  letters  to  Mr.  Jay,  and  often 
to  my  friends,  and  a  recurrence  to  these  letters  now  insures  me 
against  errors  of  memory. 

..  These  opportunities  of  information  ceased  at  this  period,  with 
my  retirement  from  this  interesting  scene  of  action.  I  had  been 
more  than  a  year  soliciting  leave  to  go  home,  with  a  view  to 
place  my  daughters  in  the  society  and  care  of  their  friends,  and 
to  return  for  a  short  time  to  my  station  at  Paris.  But  the  meta- 
morphosis through  which  our  government  was  then  passing  from 
its  Chrysalid  to  its  Organic  form  suspended  its  action  in  a  great 
degree  ;  and  it  was  not  till  the  last  of  August,  that  I  received  the 
permission  I  had  asked.  And  here,  I  cannot  leave  this  great 
and  good  country,  without  expressing  my  sense  of  its  pre-emi- 
nence of  character  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  A  more 
benevolent  people  I  have  never  known,  nor  greater  warmth  and 
devotedness  in  their  select  friendships.  Their  kindness  and  ac- 
commodation to  strangers  is  unparalleled,  and  the  hospitality  of 
Paris  is  beyond  anything  I  had  conceived  to  be  practicable  in 
a  large  city.  Their  eminence,  too,  in  science,  the  communica- 
tive dispositions  of  their  scientific  men,  the  politeness  of  the 
general  manners,  the  ease  and  vivacity  of  their  conversation, 
give  a  charm  to  their  society,  to  be  found  nowhere  else.  In  a 
comparison  of  this,  with  other  countries,  we  have  the  proof  of 
primacy,  which  was  given  to  Themistocles,  after  the  battle  of 
Salamis.  Every  general  voted  to  himself  the  first  reward  of 
valor,  and  the  second  to  Themistocles.  So,  ask  the  travelled 
inhabitant  of  any  nation,  in  what  country  on  earth  would  you 
rather  live  ? — Certainly,  in  my  own,  where  are  all  my  friends, 
my  relations,  and  the  earliest  and  sweetest  affections  and  recol- 
lections of  my  life.  Which  would  be  your  second  choice  ? 
France. 

On  the  26th  of  September  I  left  Paris  for  Havre,  where  I 
was  detained  by  contrary  winds  until  the  8th  of  October.  On 
that  clay,  and  the  9th,  I  crossed  over  to  Cowes,  where  I  had  en- 
gaged the  Clermont,  Capt.  Colley,  to  touch  for  me.  She  did  so  ; 


\t)8  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

but  here  again  we  were  detained  by  contrary  winds,  until  the 
22d,  when  we  embarked,  and  landed  at  Norfolk  on  the  23d 
of  November.  On  my  way  home,  I  passed  some  days  at  Ep- 
pington,  in  Chesterfield,  the  residence  of  my  friend  and  connec- 
tion, Mr.  Eppes ;  and,  while  there,  I  received  a  letter  from  the 
President,  General  Washington,  by  express,  covering  an  appoint- 
ment to  be  Secretary  of  State.*  I  received  it  with  real  regret. 
My  wish  had  been  to  return  to  Paris,  where  I  had  left  my 
household  establishment,  as  if  there  myself,  and  to  see  the  end 
of  the  Revolution,  which  I  then  thought  would  be  certainly  and 
happily  closed  in  less  than  a  year.  I  then  meant  to  return  home, 
to  withdraw  from  political  life,  into  which  I  had  been  impressed 
by  the  circumstances  of  the  times,  to  sink  into  the  bosom  of  my 
family  and  friends,  and  devote  myself  to  studies  more  congenial 
to  my  mind.  In  my  answer  of  December  15th,  I  expressed 
these  dispositions  candidly  to  the  President,  and  my  preference 
of  a  return  to  Paris ;  but  assured  him,  that  if  it  was  believed  I 
could  be  more  useful  in  the  administration  of  the  government,  I 
would  sacrifice  my  own  inclinations  without  hesitation,  and  re- 
pair to  that  destination;  this  I  left  to  his  decision.  I  arrived  at 
Monticello  on  the  23d  of  December,  where  I  received  a  second 
letter  from  the  President,  expressing  his  continued  wish  that  I 
should  take  my  station  there,  but  leaving  me  still  at  liberty  to 
continue  in  my  former  office,  if  I  could  not  reconcile  myself  to 
that  now  proposed.  This  silenced  my  reluctance,  and  I  accept- 
ed the  new  appointment. 

In  the  interval  of  my  stay  at  home,  my  eldest  daughter  had 
been  happily  married  to  the  eldest  son  of  the  Tuckahoe  branch 
of  Randolphs,  a  young  gentleman  of  genius,  science,  and  honor- 
able mind,  who  afterwards  filled  a  dignified  station  in  the  Gene- 
ral Government,  and  the  most  dignified  in  his  own  State.  I  left 
Monticeilo  on  the  first  of  March,  1790,  for  New  York.  At  Phila- 
delphia I  called  on  the  venerable  and  beloved  Franklin.  He 
was  then  on  the  bed  of  sickness  from  which  he  never  rose.  My 
recent  return  from  a  country  in  which  he  had  left  so  many 

[*  See  Appendix,  note  H] 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  109 

friends,  and  the  perilous  convulsions  to  which  they  had  been  ex- 
posed, revived  all  his  anxieties  to  know  what  part  they  had 
taken,  what  had  been  their  course,  and  what  their  fate.  He 
went  over  all  in  succession,  with  a  rapidity  and  animation  al- 
most too  much  for  his  strength.  When  all  his  inquiries  were 
satisfied,  and  a  pause  took  place,  I  told  him  I  had  learned  with 
much  pleasure  that,  since  his  return  to  America,  he  had  been  oc- 
cupied in  preparing  for  the  world  the  history  of  his  own  life. 
I  cannot  say  much  of  that,  said  he  ;  but  I  will  give  you  a  sample 
of  what  I  shall  leave  ;  and  he  directed  his  little  grandson  (Wil- 
liam Bachc)  who  was  standing  by  the  bedside,  to  hand  him  a 
paper  from  the  table,  to  which  he  pointed.  He  did  so ;  and  the 
Doctor  putting  it  into  my  hands,  desired  me  to  take  it  and  read 
it  at  my  leisure.  It  was  about  a  quire  of  folio  paper,  written  in 
a  large  and  running  hand,  very  like  his  own.  I  looked  into  it 
slightly,  then  shut  it,  and  said  I  would  accept  his  permission  to 
read  it,  and  would  carefully  return  it.  He  said,  "  no,  keep  it." 
Not  certain  of  his  meaning,  I  again  looked  into  it,  folded  it  for 
my  pocket,  and  said  again,  I  would  certainly  return  it.  "  No," 
said  he,  "  keep  it."  I  put  it  into  my  pocket,  and  shortly  after 
took  leave  of  him.  He  died  on  the  17th  of  the  ensuing  month 
of  April ;  and  as  I  understood  that  he  had  bequeathed  all  his 
papers  to  his  grandson,  William  Temple  Franklin,  I  immediately 
wrote  to  Mr.  Franklin,  to  inform  him  I  possessed  this  paper, 
which  I  should  consider  as  his  property,  and  would  deliver  to 
his  order.  He  came  on  immediately  to  New  York,  called  on 
me  for  it,  and  I  delivered  it  to  him.  As  he  put  it  into  his 
pocket,  he  said  carelessly,  he  had  either  the  original,  or  another 
copy  of  it,  I  do  not  recollect  which.  This  last  expression  struck 
my  attention  forcibly,  and  for  the  first  time  suggested  to  me  the 
thought  that  Dr.  Franklin  had  meant  it  as  a  confidential  de- 
posit in  my  hands,  and  that  I  had  done  wrong  in  parting  from 
it.  I  have  not  yet  seen  the  collection  he  published  of  Dr. 
Franklin's  works,  and,  therefore,  know  not  if  this  is  among 
them.  I  have  been  told  it  is  not.  It  contained  a  narrative  of 
the  negotiations  between  Dr.  Franklin  and  the  British  Ministry, 


JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

when  he  was  endeavoring  to  prevent  the  contest  of  arms  which 
followed.  The  negotiation  was  brought  ahout  by  the  interven- 
tion of  Lord  Howe  and  his  sister,  who,  I  believe,  was  called 
Lady  Howe,  but  I  may  misre member  her  title.  Lord  Howe 
seems  to  have  been  friendly  to  America,  and  exceedingly  anx- 
ious to  prevent  a  rupture.  His  intimacy  with  Dr.  Franklin,  and 
his  position  with  the  Ministry,  induced  him  to  undertake  a  me- 
diation between  them  ;  in  which  his  sister  seemed  to  have  been 
associated.  They  carried  from  one  to  the  other,  backwards  and 
forwards,  the  several  propositions  and  answers  which  passed,  and 
seconded  with  their  own  intercessions,  the  importance  of  mutual 
sacrifices,  to  preserve  the  peace  and  connection  of  the  two  coun- 
tries. I  remember  that  Lord  North's  answers  were  dry,  un- 
yielding, in  the  spirit  of  unconditional  submission,  and  betrayed 
an  absolute  indifference  to  the  occurrence  of  a  rupture ;  and  he 
said  to  the  mediators  distinctly,  at  last,  that  "  a  rebellion  was  not 
to  be  deprecated  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain ;  that  the  confisca- 
tions it  would  produce  would  provide  for  many  of  their  friends." 
This  expression  was  reported  by  the  mediators  to  Dr.  Franklin, 
and  indicated  so  cool  and  calculated  a  purpose  in  the  Ministry, 
as  to  render  compromise  hopeless,  and  the  negotiation  was  dis- 
continued. If  this  is  not  among  the  papers  published,  we  ask, 
what  has  become  of  it  ?  I  delivered  it  with  my  own  hands, 
into  those  of  Temple  Franklin.  It  certainly  established  views 
so  atrocious  in  the  British  government,  that  its  suppression 
would,  to  them,  be  worth  a  great  price.  But  could  the  grandson 
of  Dr.  Franklin  be,  in  such  degree,  an  accomplice  in  the  parri- 
cide of  the  memory  of  his  immortal  grandfather  ?  The  suspen- 
sion for  more  than  twenty  years  of  the  general  publication,  be- 
queathed and  confided  to  him,  produced,  for  awhile,  hard  sus- 
picions against  him ;  and  if,  at  last,  all  are  not  published,  a  part 
of  these  suspicions  may  remain  with  some. 

I  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  21st  of  March,  where  Congress 
was  in  session. 


APPENDIX. 

•»  »  «• — 

[NOTE  A.] 

LETTER   TO    JOHN    SAUNDERSON,    ESQ. 

Monticello,  August  31,  1820. 

SIR, 

Your  letter  of  the  19th  was  received  in  due  time,  and  I  wish 
it  were  in  my  power  to  furnish  you  more  fully,  than  in  the  en- 
closed paper,  with  materials  for  the  hiography  of  George  Wythe  ; 
but  I  possess  none  in  writing,  am  very  distant  from  the  place  of 
his  birth  and  early  life,  and  know  not  a  single  person  in  that 
quarter  from  whom  inquiry  could  be  made,  with  the  expectation 
of  collecting  anything  material.  Add  to  this,  that  feeble  health 
disables  me,  almost,  from  writing ;  and  entirely  from  the  labor 
of  going  into  difficult  research.  I  became  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Wythe  when  he  was  about  thirty-five  years  of  age.  He  directed 
my  studies  in  the  law,  led  me  into  business,  and  continued,  until 
death,  my  most  aifectionate  friend.  A  close  intimacy  with  him, 
during  that  period  of  forty  odd  years,  the  most  important  of  his 
life,  enables  me  to  state  its  leading  facts,  which,  being  of  my 
own  knowledge,  I  vouch  their  truth.  Of  what  precedes  that 
period,  I  speak  from  hearsay  only,  in  which  there  may  be  error, 
but  of  little  account,  as  the  character  of  the  facts  will  themselves 
manifest.  In  the  epoch  of  his  birth,  I  may  err  a  little,  stating 
that  from  the  recollection  of  a  particular  incident,  the  date  of 
which,  within  a  year  or  two,  I  do  not  distinctly  remember. 
These  scanty  outlines  you  will  be  able,  I  hope,  to  fill  up  from 
other  information,  and  they  may  serve  you,  sometimes,  as  land- 
marks to  distinguish  truth  from  error,  in  what  you  hear  from 


JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

others.  The  exalted  virtue  of  the  man  will  also  be  a  polar  star 
to  guide  you  in  all  matters  which  may  touch  that  element  of  his 
character.  But  on  that  you  will  receive  imputation  from  no  man ; 
for,  as  far  as  I  know,  he  never  had  an  enemy.  Little  as  I  am 
able  to  contribute  to  the  jis;  reputation  of  this  excellent  man,  it 
is  the  act  of  my  life  most  gratifying  to  my  heart ;  and  leaves  me 
only  to  regret  that  a  waning  memory  can  do  no  more. 

Of  Mr.  Hancock  I  can  say  nothing,  having  known  him  only 
in  the  chair  of  Congress.  Having  myself  been  the  youngest 
man  but  one  in  that  body,  the  disparity  of  age  prevented  any 
particular  intimacy.  But  of  him  there  can  be  no  difficulty  in 
obtaining  full  information  in  the  North. 

I  salute  you,  Sir,  with  sentiments  of  great  respect, 

TH.  JEFFERSON. 

NOTES  FOR  THE  BIOGRAPHY  OF  GEORGE  WYTHE. 

George  Wythe  was  born  about  the  year  1727,  or  1728,  of  a 
respectable  family  in  the  County  of  Elizabeth  City,  on  the  shores 
of  the  Chesapeake.  He  inherited,  from  his  father,  a  fortune  suf- 
ficient for  independence  and  ease.  He  had  not  the  benefit  of  a 
regular  education  in  the  schools,  but  acquired  a  good  one  of  him- 
self, and  without  assistance  ;  insomuch,  as  to  become  the  best 
Latin  and  Greek  scholar  in  the  State.  It  is  said,  that  while  read- 
ing the  Greek  Testament,  his  mother  held  an  English  one,  to  aid 
him  in  rendering  the  Greek  text  conformably  with  that.  He  also 
acquired,  by  his  own  reading,  a  good  knowledge  of  Mathematics, 
and  of  Natural  and  Moral  Philosophy.  He  engaged  in  the  study 
of  the  law  under  the  direction  of  a  Mr.  Lewis,  of  that  profession, 
and  went  early  to  the  bar  of  the  General  Court,  then  occupied 
by  men  of  great  ability,  learning,  and  dignity  in  their  profession. 
He  soon  became  eminent  among  them,  and,  in  process  of  time, 
the  first  at  the  bar,  taking  into  consideration  his  superior  learn- 
ing, correct  elocution,  and  logical  style  of  reasoning  ;  for  in  plead- 
ing he  never  indulged  himself  with  an  useless  or  declamatory 
thought  or  word  j  and  became  as  distinguished  by  correctness 


APPENDIX.  113 

and  purity  of  conduct  in  his  profession,  as  he  was  by  his  indus- 
try and  fidelity  to  those  who  employed  him.  He  was  early 
elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  then  called  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  and  continued  in  it  until  the  Revolution.  On  the 
first  dawn  of  that,  instead  of  higgling  on  half-way  principles,  as 
others  did  who  feared  to  follow  their  reason,  he  took  his  stand 
on  the  solid  ground  that  the  only  link  of  political  union  between 
us  and  Great  Britain,  was  the  identity  of  our  Executive  ;  that 
that  nation  and  its  Parliament  had  no  more  authority  over  us, 
than  we  had  over  them,  and  that  we  were  co-ordinate  nations 
with  Great  Britain  and  Hanover. 

In  1774,  he  was  a  member  of  a  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses,  appointed  to  prepare  a  Petition  to  the  King,  a  Memo- 
rial to  the  House  of  Lords,  and  a  Remonstrance  to  the  House  of 
Commons,  on  the  subject  of  the  proposed  Stamp  Act.  He  was 
made  draughtsman  of  the  last,  and,  following  his  own  principles, 
he  so  far  overwent  the  timid  hesitations  of  his  colleagues,  that 
his  draught  was  subjected  by  them  to  material  modifications  ; 
and,  when  the  famous  Resolutions  of  Mr.  Henry,  in  1775,  were 
proposed,  it  was  not  on  any  difference  of  principle  that  they  were 
opposed  by  Wythe,  Randolph,  Pendleton,  Nicholas,  Bland,  and 
other  worthies,  who  had  long  been  the  habitual  leaders  of  the 
House  ;  but  because  those  papers  of  the  preceding  session  had 
already  expressed  the  same  sentiments  and  assertions  of  right, 
and  that  an  answer  to  them  was  yet  to  be  expected. 

In  August,  1775,  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  Congress,  and 
in  1776,  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  of  which  he 
had,  in  debate,  been  an  eminent  supporter.  And  subsequently, 
in  the  same  year,  he  was  appointed,  by  the  Legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia, one  of  a  Committee  to  revise  the  laws  of  the  State,  as  well 
of  British  as  of  Colonial  enactment,  and  to  prepare  bills  for  re- 
enacting  them,  with  such  alterations  as  the  change  in  the  form 
and  principles  of  the  government,  and  other  circumstances,  re- 
quired ;  and  of  this  work,  he  executed  the  period  commencing 
with  the  revolution  in  England,  and  ending  with  the  establish- 
ment of  the  new  government  here  ;  excepting  the  Acts  for  regu- 

VOL.  i.  8 


114  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

lating  descents,  for  religious  freedom,  and  for  proportioning  crimes 
and  punishments.  In  1777,  he  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Delegates,  being  of  distinguished  learning  in  Parliamentary 
law  and  proceedings  ;  and  towards  the  end  of  the  same  year,  he 
was  appointed  one  of  the  three  Chancellors,  to  whom  that  de- 
partment of  the  Judiciary  was  confided,  on  the  first  organization 
of  the  new  government.  On  a  subsequent  change  of  the  form 
of  that  court,  he  was  appointed  sole  Chancellor,  in  which  office 
he  continued  to  act  until  his  death,  which  happened  in  June, 
1806,  about  the  seventy-eighth  or  seventy-ninth  year  of  his  age. 

Mr.  Wythe  had  been  twice  married  :  first,  I  believe,  to  a  daugh- 
ter of  Mr.  Lewis,  with  whom  he  had  studied  law,  and  afterwards 
to  a  Miss  Taliaferro,  of  a  wealthy  and  respectable  family  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Williamsburg  ;  by  neither  of  whom  did  he  leave 
issue. 

No  man  ever  left  behind  him  a  character  more  venerated  than 
George  Wythe.  His  virtue  was  of  the  purest  tint ;  his  integrity 
inflexible,  and  his  justice  exact ;  of  warm  patriotism,  and,  de- 
voted as  he  was  to  liberty,  and  the  natural  and  equal  rights  of 
man,  he  might  truly  be  called  the  Cato  of  his  country,  without 
the  avarice  of  the  Roman  ;  for  a  more  disinterested  person  never 
lived.  Temperance  and  regularity  in  all  his  habits,  gave  him 
general  good  health,  and  his  unaffected  modesty  and  suavity  of 
manners  endeared  him  to  every  one.  He  was  of  easy  elocution, 
his  language  chaste,  methodical  in  the  arrangement  of  his  matter, 
learned  and  logical  in  the  use  of  it,  and  of  great  urbanity  in  de- 
bate ;  not  quick  of  apprehension,  but,  with  a  little  time,  profound 
in  penetration,  and  sound  in  conclusion.  In  his  philosophy  he 
was  firm,  and  neither  troubling,  nor  perhaps  trusting,  any  one 
with  his  religious  creed,  he  left  the  world  to  the  conclusion,  that 
that  religion  must  be  good  which  could  produce  a  life  of  such 
exemplary  virtue. 

His  stature  was  of  the  middle  size,  well  formed  and  propor- 
tioned, and  the  features  of  his  face  were  manly,  comely,  and  en- 
gaging. Such  was  George  Wythe,  the  honor  of  his  own,  and 
the  model  of  future  times. 


APPENDIX.  115 

[NOTE  B.] 

LETTER    TO    SAMUEL    A.    WELLS,    ESQ. 

Monticello,  May  12,  1819.  • 

SIR, 

An  absence  of  some  time  at  an  occasional  and  distant  residence, 
must  apologize  for  the  delay  in  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  your 
favor  of  April  12 ;  and,  candor  obliges  me  to  add,  that  it  has 
been  somewhat  extended  by  an  aversion  to  writing,  as  well  as  to 
calls  on  my  memory  for  facts  so  much  obliterated  from  it  by 
time,  as  to  lessen  my  own  confidence  in  the  traces  which  seem 
to  remain.  One  of  the  inquiries  in  your  letter,  however,  may  be 
answered  without  an  appeal  to  the  memory.  It  is  that  respect- 
ing the  question,  whether  committees  of  correspondence  origin- 
ated in  Virginia,  or  Massachusetts  ?  on  which  you  suppose  me  to 
have  claimed  it  for  Virginia  ;  but  certainly  I  have  never  made 
such  a  claim.  The  idea,  I  suppose,  has  been  taken  up  from  what 
is  said  in  Wirt's  history  of  Mr.  Henry,  page  87,  and  from  an  in- 
exact attention  to  its  precise  terms.  It  is  there  said,  "  this  House 
(of  Burgessses,  of  Virginia)  had  the  merit  of  originating  that 
powerful  engine  of  resistance,  corresponding  committees  between 
the  legislatures  of  the  different  colonies."  That  the  fact,  as  here 
expressed,  is  true,  your  letter  bears  witness,  when  it  says,  that 
the  resolutions  of  Virginia,  for  this  purpose,  were  transmitted  to 
the  speakers  of  the  different  assemblies,  and  by  that  of  Massa- 
chusetts, was  laid,  at  the  next  session,  before  that  body,  who  ap- 
pointed a  committee  for  the  specified  object :  adding,  "  thus,  in 
Massachusetts,  there  were  two  committees  of  correspondence,  one 
chosen  by  the  people,  the  other  appointed  by  the  House  of  As- 
sembly ;  in  the  former,  Massachusetts  preceded  Virginia ;  in  the 
latter,  Virginia  preceded  Massachusetts."  To  the  origination  of 
committees  for  the  interior  correspondence  between  the  counties 
and  towns  of  a  State,  I  know  of  no  claim  on  the  part  of  Vir- 
ginia ;  and  certainly  none  was  ever  made  by  myself.  I  perceive, 
however,  one  error,  into  which  memory  had  led  me.  Our  com- 


JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

mittee  for  national  correspondence,  was  appointed  in  March,  '73, 
and  I  well  remember,  that  going  to  Williamsburg,  in  the  month 
of  June  following,  Peyton  Randolph,  our  Chairman,  told  me  that 
messengers  bearing  despatches  between  the  two  States,  had 
crossed  each  other  by  the  way,  that  of  Virginia  carrying  our  pro- 
positions for  a  committee  of  national  correspondence,  and  that 
of  Massachusetts,  bringing,  as  my  memory  suggested,  a  similar 
proposition.  But  here  I  must  have  misremembered  ;  and  the 
resolutions  brought  us  from  Massachusetts,  were  probably  those 
you  mention  of  the  town-meeting  of  Boston,  on  the  motion  of 
Mr.  Samuel  Adams,  appointing  a  committee  "  to  state  the  rights 
of  the  colonists,  and  of  that  province  in  particular,  and  the  in- 
fringements of  them  ;  to  communicate  them  to  the  several  towns, 
as  the  sense  of  the  town  of  Boston,  and  to  request,  of  each  town, 
a  free  communication  of  its  sentiments  on  the  subject."  I  sup- 
pose, therefore,  that  these  resolutions  were  not  received,  as  you 
think,  while  the  House  of  Burgesses  was  in  session  in  March, 
1773,  but  a  few  days  after  we  rose,  and  were  probably  what  was 
sent  by  the  messenger,  who  crossed  ours  by  the  way.  They 
may,  however,  have  been  still  different.  I  must,  therefore,  have 
been  mistaken  in  supposing,  and  stating  to  Mr.  Wirt,  that  the 
proposition  of  a  committee  for  national  correspondence,  was  near- 
ly simultaneous  in  Virginia  and  Massachusetts. 

A  similar  misapprehension  of  another  passage  in  Mr.  Wirt's 
book,  for  which  I  am  also  quoted,  has  produced  a  similar  recla- 
mation on  the  part  of  Massachusetts,  by  some  of  her  most  dis- 
tinguished and  estimable  citizens.  I  had  been  applied  to  by 
Mr.  Wirt,  for  such  facts  respecting  Mr.  Henry,  as  my  intimacy 
with  him,  and  participation  in  the  transactions  of  the  day,  might 
have  placed  within  my  knowledge.  I  accordingly  committed 
them  to  paper ;  and  Virginia  being  the  theatre  of  his  action, 
was  the  only  subject  within  my  contemplation.  While  speak- 
ing of  him,  of  the  resolutions  and  measures  here,  in  which  he 
had  the  acknowledged  lead,  I  used  the  expression,  that  "  Mr. 
Henry  certainly  gave  the  first  impulse  to  the  ball  of  revolution." 
[Wirt,  page  41.]  The  expression  is  indeed  general,  and  in  all 


APPENDIX.  117 

its  extension,  would  comprehend  all  the  sister  States  ;  but  in- 
dulgent construction  would  restrain  it,  as  was  really  meant,  to 
the  subject  matter  under  contemplation,  which  was  Virginia 
alone  ;  according  to  the  rule  of  the  lawyers,  and  a  fair  canon 
of  general  criticism,  that  every  expression  should  be  construed 
secundum  subjectam  materiam.  Where  the  first  attack  was 
made,  there  must  have  been  of  course,  the  first  act  of  resist- 
ance, and  that  was  in  Massachusetts.  Our  first  overt  act  of 
war,  was  Mr.  Henry's  embodying  a  force  of  militia  from  seve- 
ral counties,  regularly  armed  and  organized,  marching  them  in 
military  array,  and  making  reprisal  on  the  King's  treasury  at  the 
seat  of  government,  for  the  public  powder  taken  away  by  his 
Governor.  This  was  on  the  last  days  of  April,  1775.  Your 
formal  battle  of  Lexington,  was  ten  or  twelve  days  before  that, 
and  greatly  overshadowed  in  importance,  as  it  preceded  in  time, 
our  little  affray,  which  merely  amounted  to  a  levying  of  arms 
against  the  King  ;  and  very  possibly,  you  had  had  military  af- 
frays before  the  regular  battle  of  Lexington. 

These  explanations  will,  I  hope,  assure  you,  Sir,  that  so  far 
as  either  facts  or  opinions  have  been  truly  quoted  from  me,  they 
have  never  been  meant  to  intercept  the  just  fame  of  Massachu- 
setts, for  the  promptitude  and  perseverance  of  her  early  resist- 
ance. We  willingly  cede  to  her  the  laud  of  having  been  (al- 
though not  exclusively)  "the  cradle  of  sound  principles,"  and, 
if  some  of  us  believe  she  has  deflected  from  them  in  her  course, 
we  retain  full  confidence  in  her  ultimate  return  to  them. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  your  quotation  from  Mr.  Galloway's 
statement  of  what  passed  in  Congress,  on  their  Declaration  of 
Independence ;  in  which  statement  there  is  not  one  word  of 
truth,  and  where  bearing  some  resemblance  to  truth,  it  is  an  en- 
tire perversion  of  it.  I  do  not  charge  this  on  Mr.  Galloway 
himself ;  his  desertion  having  taken  place  long  before  these  meas- 
ures, h*  doubtless  received  his  information  from  some  of  the 
loyal  triends  whom  he  left  behind  him.  But  as  yourself,  as 
well  as  others,  appear  embarrassed  by  inconsistent  accounts  of 
the  proceedings  on  that  memorable  occasion,  and  as  those  who 


118  JEFFEKSON'S    WOEKS. 

have  endeavored  to  restore  the  truth,  have  themselves  commit- 
ted some  errors,  I  will  give  you  some  extracts  from  a  written 
document  on  that  subject ;  for  the  truth  of  which  I  pledge  my- 
self to  heaven  and  earth ;  having,  while  the  question  of  Inde- 
pendence was  under  consideration  before  Congress,  taken  writ- 
ten notes,  in  my  seat,  of  what  was  passing,  and  reduced  them 
to  form  on  the  final  conclusion.  I  have  now  before  me  that 
paper,  from  which  the  following  are  extracts.  "  Friday,  June 
7th,  1776.  The  delegates  from  Virginia  moved,  in  obedience 
to  instructions  from  their  constituents,  that  the  Congress  should 
declare  that  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be, 
free  and  independent  States ;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  al- 
legiance to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political  connection 
between  them  and  the  State  of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought 
to  be  totally  dissolved ;  that  measures  should  be  immediately 
taken  for  procuring  the  assistance  of  foreign  powers,  and  a  Con- 
federation be  formed  to  bind  the  colonies  more  closely  together. 
The  House,  being  obliged  to  attend  at  that  time  to  some  other 
business,  the  proposition  was  referred  to  the  next  day,  when  the 
members  were  ordered  to  attend  punctually  at  ten  o'clock. 
Saturday,  June  8th.  They  proceeded  to  take  it  into  considera- 
tion, and  referred  it  to  a  committee  of  the  whole,  into  which 
they  immediately  resolved  themselves,  and  passed  that  day  in 
debating  on  the  subject. 

"  It  appearing  in  the  course  of  these  debates,  that  the  colonies 
of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland 
and  South  Carolina,  were  not  yet  matured  for  falling  from  the 
parent  stem,  but  that  they  were  fast  advancing  to  that  state,  it 
was  thought  most  prudent  to  wait  a  while  for  them,  and  to  post- 
pone the  final  decision  to  July  1st.  But  that  this  might  occa- 
sion as  little  delay  as  possible,  a  Committee  was  appointed  to 
prepare  a  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  Committee  were 
John  Adams,  Dr.  Franklin,  Roger  Sherman,  Robert  R.  Livings- 
ton and  myself.  This  was  reported  to  the  House  on  Friday,  the 
28th  of  June,  when  it  was  read  and  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table. 
On  Monday,  the  1st  of  July,  the  House  resolved  itself  into  a 


APPENDIX.  119 

Committee  of  the  whole,  and  resumed  the  consideration  of  the 
original  motion  made  by  the  delegates  of  Virginia,  which,  be- 
ing again  debated  through  the  day,  was  carried  in  the  affirma- 
tive by  the  votes  of  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut,  Massachu- 
setts, Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia.  South  Carolina  and  Pennsylvania  voted 
against  it.  Delaware  had  but  two  members  present,  and  they 
were  divided.  The  delegates  from  New  York  declared  they 
were  for  it  themselves,  and  were  assured  their  constituents  were 
for  it ;  but  that  their  instructions  having  been  drawn  near  a 
twelvemonth  before,  when  reconciliation  was  still  the  general 
object,  they  were  enjoined  by  them,  to  do  nothing  which  should 
impede  that  object.  They,  therefore,  thought  themselves  not 
justifiable  in  voting  on  either  side,  and  asked  leave  to  with- 
draw from  the  question,  which  was  given  them.  The  Com- 
mittee rose,  and  reported  their  resolutions  to  the  House.  Mr. 
Rutledge,  of  South  Carolina,  then  requested  the  determination 
might  be  put  off  to  the  next  day,  as  he  believed  his  colleagues, 
though  they  disapproved  of  the  resolution,  would  then  join  in  it 
for  the  sake  of  unanimity.  The  ultimate  question,  whether  the 
House  would  agree  to  the  resolution  of  the  Committee,  was  ac- 
cordingly postponed  to  the  next  day,  when  it  was  again  moved, 
and  South  Carolina  concurred  in  voting  for  it.  In  the  mean- 
time, a  third  member  had  come  post  from  the  Delaware  coun- 
ties, and  turned  the  vote  of  that  colony  in  favor  of  the  resolu- 
tion. Members  of  a  different  sentiment  attending  that  morn- 
ing from  Pennsylvania  also,  her  vote  was  changed  ;  so  that  the 
whole  twelve  colonies,  who  were  authorized  to  vote  at  all,  gave 
their  votes  for  it ;  and  within  a  few  days  [July  9th]  the  con- 
vention of  New  York  approved  of  it,  and  this  supplied  the  void 
occasioned  by  the  withdrawing  of  their  delegates  from  the 
vote."  [Be  careful  to  observe,  that  this  vacillation  and  vote 
were  on  the  original  motion  of  the  7th  of  June,  by  the  Virginia 
delegates,  that  Congress  should  declare  the  colonies  independ- 
ent.] "Congress  proceeded,  the  same  day,  to  consider  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  which  had  been  reported  and 


120  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

laid  on  the  table  the  Friday  preceding,  and  on  Monday,  referred 
to  a  Committee  of  the  whole.  The  pusillanimous  idea,  that  we 
had  friends  in  England  worth  keeping  terms  with,  still  haunted 
the  minds  of  many.  For  this  reason,  those  passages  which 
conveyed  censures  on  the  people  of  England  were  struck  out, 
lest  they  should  give  them  offence.  The  debates  having  taken 
up  the  greater  parts  of  the  second,  third  and  fourth  days  of 
July,  were,  in  the  evening  of  the  last,  closed  ;  the  Declaration 
was  reported  by  the  Committee,  agreed  to  by  the  House,  and 
signed  by  every  member  present  except  Mr.  Dickinson."  So 
far  my  notes. 

Governor  M'Kean,  in  his  letter  to  McCorkle  of  July  16th, 
1817,  has  thrown  some  lights  on  the  transactions  of  that  day  ; 
but,  trusting  to  his  memory  chiefly,  at  an  age  when  our  memo- 
ries are  not  to  be  trusted,  he  has  confounded  two  questions, 
and  ascribed  proceedings  to  one  which  belonged  to  the  other. 
These  two  questions  were,  1st,  the  Virginia  motion  of  June  the 
7th,  to  declare  Independence  ;  and  2d,  the  actual  Declaration,  its 
matter  and  form.  Thus  he  states  the  question  on  the  Declara- 
tion itself,  as  decided  on  the  1st  of  July ;  but  it  was  the  Vir- 
ginia motion  which  was  voted  on  that  day  in  committee  of  the 
whole  ;  South  Carolina,  as  well  as  Pennsylvania,  then  voting 
against  it.  Bat  the  ultimate  decision  in  the  House,  on  the  re- 
port of  the  Committee,  being,  by  request,  postponed  to  the 
next  morning,  all  the  States  voted  for  it,  except  New  York, 
whose  vote  was  delayed  for  the  reason  before  stated.  It  was 
not  till  the  2d  of  July,  that  the  Declaration  itself  was  taken 
up ;  nor  till  the  4th,  that  it  was  decided,  and  it  was  signed  by 
every  member  present,  except  Mr.  Dickinson. 

The  subsequent  sign  itures  of  members  who  were  not  then 
present,  and  some  of  tl  .m  not  yet  in  office,  is  easily  explained, 
if  we  observe  who  the  y  were ;  to  wit,  that  they  were  of  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania.  New  York  did  not  sign  till  the  15th, 
because  it  was  not  till  the  9th  (five  days  after  the  general  sig- 
nature), that  their  Convention  authorized  them  to  do  so.  The 
Convention  of  Pennsylvania,  learning  that  it  had  been  signed 


APPENDIX.  121 

by  a  minority  only  of  their  delegates,  named  a  new  delegation 
on  the  20th,  leaving  out  Mr.  Dickinson,  who  had  refused  to 
sign,  Willing  and  Humphreys  who  had  withdrawn,  re-appoint- 
ing the  three  members  who  had  signed,  Morris,  who  had  not 
been  present,  and  five  new  ones,  to  wit,  Rush,  Clymer,  Smith, 
Taylor  and  Ross :  and  Morris,  and  the  five  new  members  were 
permitted  to  sign,  because  it  manifested  the  assent  of  their  full 
delegation,  and  the  express  will  of  their  Convention,  which 
might  have  been  doubted  on  the  former  signature  of  a  minority 
only.  Why  the  signature  of  Thornton,  of  New  Hampshire, 
was  permitted  so  late  as  the  4th  of  November,  I  cannot  now 
say  ;  but  undoubtedly  for  some  particular  reason,  which  we 
should  find  to  have  been  good,  had  it  been  expressed.  These 
were  the  only  post-signers,  and  you  see,  Sir,  that  there  were 
solid  reasons  for  receiving  those  of  New  York  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  that  this  circumstance  in  no  wise  affects  the  faith 
of  this  Declaratory  Charter  of  our  rights,  and  of  the  rights 
of  man. 

With  a  view  to  correct  errors  of  fact  before  they  become  in- 
veterate by  repetition,  I  have  stated  what  I  find  essentially  mate- 
rial in  my  papers,  but  with  that  brevity,  which  the  labor  of  writing 
constrains  me  to  use. 

On  the  four  particular  articles  of  enquiry  in  your  letter,  respect- 
ing your  grandfather,  the  venerable  Samuel  Adams,  neither  me- 
mory nor  memorandums  enable  me  to  give  any  information.  I 
can  say  that  he  was  truly  a  great  man,  wise  in  council,  fertile  in 
resources,  immoveable  in  his  purposes,  and  had,  I  think,  a  greater 
share  than  any  other  member,  in  advising  and  directing  our  meas- 
ures, in  the  Northern  war.  As  a  speaker,  he  could  not  be  com- 
pared with  his  living  colleague  and  namesake,  whose  deep  con- 
ceptions, nervous  style,  and  undaunted  firmness,  made  him  truly 
our  bulwark  in  debate.  But  Mr.  Samuel  Adams,  although  not  of 
fluent  elocution,  was  so  rigorously  logical,  so  clear  in  his  views, 
abundant  in  good  sense,  and  master  always  of  his  subject,  that  he 
commanded  the  most  profound  attention,  whenever  he  rose  in  an 
assembly,  by  which  the  froth  of  declamation  was  heard  with  the 


122  JEFFERSON'S   WORKS. 

most  sovereign  contempt.  I  sincerely  rejoice,  that  the  record  of 
his  worth  is  to  be  undertaken  by  one  so  much  disposed  as  you 
will  be,  to  hand  him  down  fairly  to  that  posterity  for  whose  lib- 
erty and  happiness  he  was  so  zealous  a  laborer. 

With  sentiments  of  sincere  veneration  for  his  memory,  accept 
yourself  this  tribute  to  it,  with  the  assurance  of  my  great  respect. 

P.  S.  August  6th,  1822.  Since  the  date  of  this  letter,  to-wit, 
this  day,  August  6,  '22,  I  have  received  the  new  publication  of 
the  Secret  Journals  of  Congress,  wherein  is  stated  a  resolution  of 
July  19th,  1T76,  that  the  Declaration  passed  on  the  4th,  be  fairly 
engrossed  on  parchment,  and  when  engrossed,  be  signed  by  every 
member ;  and  another  of  August  2nd,  that  being  engrossed  and 
compared  at  the  table,  it  was  signed  by  the  members ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  copy  engrossed  on  parchment  (for  durability)  was  signed 
by  the  members,  after  being  compared  at  the  table,  with  the  ori- 
ginal one  signed  on  paper  as  before  stated.  I  add  this  P.  S.  to 
the  copy  of  my  letter  to  Mr.  Wells,  to  prevent  confounding  the 
signature  of  the  original  with  that  of  the  copy  engrossed  on 
parchment. 


[NOTE  C.] 

On  the  instructions  given  to  the  first  delegation  of  Virginia  to 
Congress,  in  August,  1774. 

The  Legislature  of  Virginia  happened  to  be  in  session,  in  Wil- 
liamsburg,  when  news  was  received  of  the  passage,  by  the  British 
Parliament,  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  which  was  to  take  effect  on 
the  first  day  of  June  then  ensuing.  The  House  of  Burgesses, 
thereupon,  passed  a  resolution,  recommending  to  their  fellow-citi- 
zens, that  that  day  should  be  set  apart  for  fasting  and  prayer  to 
the  Supreme  Being,  imploring  him  to  avert  the  calamities  then 
threatening  us,  and  to  give  us  one  heart  and  one  mind  to  oppose 
every  invasion  of  our  liberties.  The  next  day,  May  the  20th, 


APPENDIX.  123 

]  774,  the  Governor  dissolved  us.  We  immediately  repaired  to  a 
room  in  the  Raleigh  tavern,  about  one  hundred  paces  distant  from 
the  Capitol,  formed  ourselves  into  a  meeting,  Peyton  Randolph  in 
the  chair,  and  came  to  resolutions,  declaring,  that  an  attack  on  one 
colony,  to  enforce  arbitrary  acts,  ought  to  be  considered  as  an  at- 
tack on  all,  and  to  be  opposed  by  the  united  wisdom  of  all.  We, 
therefore,  appointed  a  Committee  of  correspondence,  to  address 
letters  to  the  Speakers  of  the  several  Houses  of  Representatives 
of  the  colonies,  proposing  the  appointment  of  deputies  from  each, 
to  meet  annually  in  a  General  Congress,  to  deliberate  on  their 
common  interests,  and  on  the  measures  to  be  pursued  in  common. 
The  members  then  separated  to  their  several  homes,  except  those 
of  the  Committee,  who'  met  the  next  day,  prepared  letters  ac- 
cording to  instructions,  and  despatched  them  by  messengers  ex- 
press, to  their  several  destinations.  It  had  been  agreed,  also,  by 
the  meeting,  that  the  Burgesses,  who  should  be  elected  under 
the  writs  then  issuing,  should  be  requested  to  meet  in  Convention, 
on  a  certain  day  in  August,  to  learn  the  results  of  these  letters, 
and  to  appoint  delegates  to  a  Congress,  should  that  measure  be 
approved  by  the  other  colonies.  At  the  election,  the  people  re- 
elected  every  man  of  the  former  Assembly,  as  a  proof  of  their  ap- 
probation of  what  they  had  done.  Before  I  left  home,  to  attend 
the  Convention,  I  prepared  what  I  thought  might  be  given,  in 
instruction,  to  the  Delegates  who  should  be  appointed  to  attend 
the  General  Congress  proposed.  They  were  drawn  in  haste,  with 
a  number  of  blanks,  with  some  uncertainties  and  inaccuracies  of 
historical  facts,  which  I  neglected  at  the  moment,  knowing  they 
could  be  readily  corrected  at  the  meeting.  I  set  out  on  my  jour- 
ney, but  was  taken  sick  on  the  road,  and  was  unable  to  proceed. 
I  therefore  sent  on,  by  express,  two  copies,  one  under  cover  to 
Patrick  Henry,  the  other  to  Peyton  Randolph,  who  I  knew  would 
be  in  the  chair  of  the  Convention.  Of  the  former,  no  more  was 
ever  heard  or  known.  Mr.  Henry  probably  thought  it  too  bold, 
as  a  first  measure,  as  the  majority  of  the  members  did.  On  the 
other  copy  being  laid  on  the  table  of  the  Convention,  by  Peyton 
Randolph,  as  the  proposition  of  a  member,  who  was  prevented 


124  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

from  attendance  by  sickness  on  the  road,  tamer  sentiments  were 
preferred,  and,  I  believe,  wisely  preferred ;  the  leap  I  proposed 
being  too  long,  as  yet,  for  the  mass  of  our  citizens.  The  distance 
between  these,  and  the  instructions  actually  adopted,  is  of  some 
curiosity,  however,  as  it  shews  the  inequality  of  pace  with  which 
we  moved,  and  the  prudence  required  to  keep  front  and  rear  to- 
gether. My  creed  had  been  formed  on  unsheathing  the  sword  at 
Lexington.  They  printed  the  paper,  however,  and  gave  it  the 
title  of  'A  summary  view  of  the  rights  of  British  America.'  In 
this  form  it  got  to  London,  where  the  opposition  took  it  up,  shaped 
it  to  opposition  views,  and,  in  that  form,  it  ran  rapidly  through 
several  editions. 

Mr.  Marshall,  in  his  history  of  General  Washington,  chapter  3, 
speaking  of  this  proposition  for  Committees  of  correspondence 
and  for  a  General  Congress,  says,  '  this  measure  had  already  been 
proposed  in  town  meeting,  in  Boston,'  and  some  pages  before,  he 
had  said,  that  '  at  a  session  of  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts, 
in  September,  1770,  that  Court,  in  pursuance  of  a  favorite  idea 
of  uniting  all  the  colonies  in  one  system  of  measures,  elected  a 
Committee  of  correspondence,  to  communicate  with  such  Com- 
mittees as  might  be  appointed  by  the  other  colonies.'  This  is  an 
error.  The  Committees  of  correspondence,  elected  by  Massachu- 
setts, were  expressly  for  a  correspondence  among  the  several  towns 
of  that  province  only.  Besides  the  text  of  their  proceedings,  his 
own  note  X,  proves  this.  The  first  proposition  for  a  general  cor- 
respondence between  the  several  states,  ancj.  for  a  General  Con- 
gress, was  made  by  our  meeting  of  May,  1774.  Botta,  copying 
Marshall,  has  repeated  his  error,  and  so  it  will  be  handed  on  from 
copyist  to  copyist,  ad  iiifinitum.  Here  follows  my  proposition, 
and  the  more  prudent  one  which  was  adopted. 

Resolved,  That  it  be  an  instruction  to  the  said  deputies,  when 
assembled  in  General  Congress,  with  the  deputies  from  the  other 
states  of  British  America,  to  propose  to  the  said  Congress,  that  an 
humble  and  dutiful  address  be  presented  to  his  Majesty,  begging 
leave  to  lay  before  him,  as  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  British  empire, 
the  united  complaints  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  in  America ;  com- 


APPENDIX.  125 

plaints  which  are  excited  by  many  unwarrantable  encroachments 
and  usurpations,  attempted  to  be  made  by  the  legislature  of  one 
part  of  the  empire,  upon  the  rights  which  God,  and  the  laws, 
have  given  equally  and  independently  to  all.  To  represent  to 
his  Majesty  that  these,  his  States,  have  often  individually  made 
humble  application  to  his  imperial  Throne,  to  obtain,  through  its 
intervention,  some  redress  of  their  injured  rights;  to  none  of 
which,  was  ever  even  an  answer  condescended.  Humbly  to  hope 
that  this,  their  joint  address,  penned  in  the  language  of  truth,  and 
divested  of  those  expressions  of  servility,  which  would  persuade 
his  Majesty  that  we  are  asking  favors,  and  not  rights,  shall  obtain 
from  his  Majesty  a  more  respectful  acceptance  ;  and  this  his  Ma- 
jesty will  think  we  have  reason  to  expect,  when  he  reflects  that 
he  is  no  more  than  the  chief  officer  of  the  people,  appointed  by. 
the  laws,  and  circumscribed  with  definite  powers,  to  assist  in 
working  the  great  machine  of  government,  erected  for  their  use, 
and,  consequently,  subject  to  their  superintendence  ;  and,  in. order 
that  these,  our  rights,  as  well  as  the  invasions  of  them,  may  be 
laid  more  fully  before  his  Majesty,  to  take  a  view  of  them,  from 
the  origin  and  first  settlement  of  these  countries. 

To  remind  him  that  our  ancestors,  before  their  emigration  to 
America,  were  the  free  inhabitants  of  the  British  dominions  in 
Europe,  and  possessed  a  right,  which  nature  has  given  to  all  men, 
of  departing  from  the  country  in  which  chance,  not  choice,  has 
placed  them,  of  going  in  quest  of  new  habitations,  and  of  there 
establishing  new  societies,  under  such  laws  and  regulations  as,  to 
them,  shall  seem  most  likely  to  promote  public  happiness.  That 
their  Saxon  ancestors  had,  under  this  universal  law,  in  like  man- 
ner, left  their  native  wilds  and  woods  in  the  North  of  Europe,  had 
possessed  themselves  of  the  Island  of  Britain,  then  less  charged 
with  inhabitants,  and  had  established  there  that  system  of  laws 
which  has  so  long  been  the  glory  and  protection  of  that  country. 
Nor  was  ever  any  claim  of  superiority  or  dependence  asserted 
over  them,  by  that  mother  country  from  which  they  had  migra- 
ted :  and  were  such  a  claim  made,  it  is  believed  his  Majesty's 
subjects  in  Great  Britain  have  too  firm  a  feeling  of  the  rights  de- 


126  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

rived  to  them  from  their  ancestors,  to  bow  down  the  sovereignty 
of  their  state  before  such  visionary  pretensions.  And  it  is  thought 
that  no  circumstance  has  occurred  to  distinguish,  materially,  the 
British  from  the  Saxon  emigration.  America  was  conquered,  and 
her  settlements  made  and  firmly  established,  at  the  expense  of  in- 
dividuals, and  not  of  the  British  public.  Their  own  blood  was  spilt 
in  acquiring  lands  for  their  settlement,  their  own  fortunes  expended 
in  making  that  settlement  effectual.  For  themselves  they  fought, 
for  themselves  they  conquered,  and  for  themselves  alone  they 
have  right  to  hold.  No  shilling  was  ever  issued  from  the  public 
treasures  of  his  Majesty,  or  his  ancestors,  for  their  assistance,  till 
of  very  late  times,  after  the  colonies  had  become  established  on  a 
firm  and  permanent  footing.  That  then,  indeed,  having  become 
valuable  to  Great  Britain  for  her  commercial  purposes,  his  Parlia- 
ment was  pleased  to  lend  them  assistance  against  an  enemy  who 
would  fain  have  drawn  to  herself  the  benefits  of  their  commerce, 
to  the  great  aggrandisement  of  herself,  and  danger  of  Great 
Britain.  Such  assistance,  and  in  such  circumstances,  they  had 
often  before  given  to  Portugal  and  other  allied  states,  with  whom 
they  carry  on  a  commercial  intercourse.  Yet  these  states  never 
supposed,  that  by  calling  in  her  aid,  they  thereby  submitted  them- 
selves to  her  sovereignty.  Had  such  terms  been  proposed,  they 
would  have  rejected  them  with  disdain,  and  trusted  for  better,  to 
the  moderation  of  their  enemies,  or  to  a  vigorous  exertion  of  their 
own  force.  We  do  not,  however,  mean  to  underrate  those  aids, 
which,  to  us,  were  doubtless  valuable,  on  whatever  principles 
granted :  but  we  would  shew  that  they  cannot  give  a  title  to  that 
authority  which  the  British  Parliament  would  arrogate  over  us ; 
and  that  may  amply  be  repaid  by  our  giving  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Great  Britain  such  exclusive  privileges  in  trade  as  may  be  ad- 
vantageous to  them,  and,  at  the  same  time,  not  too  restrictive  to 
ourselves.  That  settlement  having  been  thus  effected  in  the 
wilds  of  America,  the  emigrants  thought  proper  to  adopt  that  sys- 
tem of  laws,  under  which  they  had  hitherto  lived  in  the  mother 
country,  and  to  continue  their  union  with  her,  by  submitting 
themselves  to  the  same  common  sovereign,  who  was  thereby 


APPENDIX.  127 

made  the  central  link,  connecting  the  several  parts  of  the  empire 
thus  newly  multiplied. 

But  that  not  long  were  they  permitted,  however  far  they  thought 
themselves  removed  from  the  hand  of  oppression,  to  hold  undis- 
turbed the  rights  thus  acquired  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives  and 
loss  of  their  fortunes.  A  family  of  Princes  was  then  on  the  Brit- 
ish throne,  whose  treasonable  crimes  against  their  people,  brought 
on  them,  afterwards,  the  exertion  of  those  sacred  and  sovereign 
rights  of  punishment,  reserved  in  the  hands  of  the  people  for  cases 
of  extreme  necessity,  and  judged  by  the  constitution  unsafe  to  be 
delegated  to  any  other  judicature.  While  every  day  brought  forth 
some  new  and  unjustifiable  exertion  of  power  over  their  subjects 
on  that  side  of  the  water,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  those  here, 
much  less  able  at  that  time  to  oppose  the  designs  of  despotism, 
should  be  exempted  from  injury.  Accordingly,  this  country  which 
had  been  acquired  by  the  lives,  the  labors,  and  fortunes  of  indi- 
vidual adventurers,  was  by  these  Princes,  several  times,  parted  out 
and  distributed  among  the  favorites  and  followers  of  their  for- 
tunes ;  and,  by  an  assumed  right  of  the  Crown  alone,  were  erected 
into  distinct  and  independent  governments ;  a  measure,  which  it  is 
believed,  his  Majesty's  prudence  and  understanding  would  prevent 
him  from  imitating  at  this  day  ;  as  no  exercise  of  such  power,  of 
dividing  and  dismembering  a  country,  has  ever  occurred  in  his 
Majesty's  realm  of  England,  though  now  of  very  ancient  stand- 
ing ;  nor  could  it  be  justified  or  acquiesced  under  there,  or  in  any 
part  of  his  Majesty's  empire. 

That  the  exercise  of  a  free  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world, 
possessed  by  the  American  colonists,  as  of  natural  right,  and  which 
no  law  of  their  own  had  taken  away  or  abridged,  was  next  the  ob- 
ject of  unjust  encroachment.  Some  of  the  colonies  having  thought 
proper  to  continue  the  administration  of  their  government  in  the 
name  and  under  the  authority  of  his  Majesty,  King  Charles  the 
first,  whom,  notwithstanding  his  late  deposition  by  the  Common- 
wealth of  England,  they  continued  in  the  sovereignty  of  their  State, 
the  Parliament,  for  the  Commonwealth,  took  the  same  in  high 
offence,  and  assumed  upon  themselves  the  power  of  prohibiting 


128  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

their  trade  with  all  other  parts  of  the  world,  except  the  Island  of 
Great  Britain.  This  arbitrary  act,  however,  they  soon  recalled, 
and  by  solemn  treaty  entered  into  on  the  12th  day  of  March,  1651, 
between  the  said  Commonwealth,  by  their  Commissioners,  and  the 
colony  of  Virginia  by  their  House  of  Burgesses,  it  was  expressly 
stipulated  by  the  eighth  article  of  the  said  treaty,  that  they  should 
have  '  free  trade  as  the  people  of  England  do  enjoy  to  all  places 
and  with  all  nations,  according  to  the  laws  of  that  Commonwealth.' 
But  that,  upon  the  restoration  of  his  Majesty,  King  Charles  the 
second,  their  rights  of  free  commerce  fell  once  more  a  victim  to 
arbitrary  power ;  and  by  several  acts  of  his  reign,  as  well  as  of 
some  of  his  successors,  the  trade  of  the  colonies  was  laid  under 
such  restrictions,  as  show  what  hopes  they  might  form  from  the 
justice  of  a  British  Parliament,  were  its  uncontrolled  power  ad- 
mitted over  these  States.*  History  has  informed  us,  that  bodies 
of  men  as  well  as  of  individuals,  are  susceptible  of  the  spirit  of  ty- 
ranny. A  view  of  these  acts  of  Parliament  for  regulation,  as  it  has 
been  affectedly  called,  of  the  American  tradp,  if  all  other  evidences 
were  removed  out  of  the  case,  would  undeniably  evince  the  truth 
of  this  observation.  Besides  the  duties  they  impose  on  our  arti- 
cles of  export  and  import,  they  prohibit  our  going  to  any  markets 
Northward  of  Cape  Finisterra,  in  the  kingdom  of  Spain,  for  the 
sale  of  commodities  which  Great  Britain  will  not  take  from  us,  and 
for  the  purchase  of  others,  with  which  she  cannot  supply  us ;  and 
that,  for  no  other  than  the  arbitrary  purpose  of  purchasing  for 
themselves,  by  a  sacrifice  of  our  rights  and  interests,  certain  privi- 
leges in  their  commerce  with  an  allied  state,  who,  in  confidence, 
that  their  exclusive  trade  with  America  will  be  continued,  while 
the  principles  and  power  of  the  British  Parliament  be  the  same, 
have  indulged  themselves  in  every  exorbitance  which  their  avarice 
could  dictate  or  our  necessity  extort :  have  raised  their  commod- 
ities called  for  in  America,  to  the  double  and  treble  of  what  they 
sold  for,  before  such  exclusive  privileges  were  given  them,  and  of 
what  better  commodities  of  the  same  kind  would  cost  us  else- 

*  12.  C.  2.  c.  18.      15.  C.  2.  c.  11.     25.  C.  2.  c.  7.      7.  8.  W.  M.  c.  22.      11.  W.     34 
Anne.     6.  C.  2.  c.  13. 


APPENDIX. 

where  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  give  us  much  less  for  what  we  carry 
thither,  than  might  be  had  at  more  convenient  ports.  That  these 
acts  prohibit  us  from  carrying,  in  quest  of  other  purchasers,  the  sur- 
plus of  our  tobaccos,  remaining  after  the  consumption  of  Great 
Britain  is  supplied :  so  that  we  must  leave  them  with  the  British 
merchant,  for  whatever  he  will  please  to  allow  us,  to  be  by  him 
re-shipped  to  foreign  markets,  where  he  will  reap  the  benefits  of 
making  sale  of  them  for  full  value.  That,  to  heighten  still  the  idea 
of  Parliamentary  justice,  and  to  show  with  what  moderation  they 
are  like  to  exercise  power,  where  themselves  are  to  feel  no  part 
of  its  weight,  we  take  leave  to  mention  to  his  Majesty,  certain 
other  acts  of  the  British  Parliament,  by  which  they  would  prohibit 
us  from  manufacturing,  for  our  own  use,  the  articles  we  raise  on 
our  own  lands,  with  our  own  labor.  By  an  act  passed  in  the  fifth 
year  of  the  reign  of  his  late  Majesty,  King  George  the  second,  an 
American  subject  is  forbidden  to  make  a  hat  for  himself,  of  the 
fur  which  he  has  taken,  perhaps,  on  his  own  soil ;  an  instance  of 
despotism,  to  which  no  parallel  can  be  produced  in  the  most  arbi- 
trary ages  of  British  history.  By  one  other  act,  passed  in  the 
twenty-third  year  of  the  same  reign,  the  iron  which  we  make,  we 
are  forbidden  to  manufacture ;  and,  heavy  as  that  article  is,  and 
necessary  in  every  branch  of  husbandry,  besides  commission  and 
insurance,  we  are  to  pay  freight  for  it  to  Great  Britain,  and  freight 
for  it  back  again,  for  the  purpose  of  supporting,  not  men,  but  ma- 
chines, in  the  island  of  Great  Britain.  In  the  same  spirit  of  equal 
and  impartial  legislation,  is  to  be  viewed  the  act  of  Parliament, 
passed  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  same  reign,  by  which  American 
lands  are  made  subject  to  the  demands  of  British  creditors,  while 
their  own  lands  were  still  continued  unanswerable  for  their  debts ; 
from  which,  one  of  these  conclusions  must  necessarily  follow, 
either  that  justice  is  not  the  same  thing  in  America  as  in  Britain, 
or  else,  that  the  British  Parliament  pay  less  regard  to  it  here  than 
there.  But,  that  we  do  not  point  out  to  his  Majesty  the  injustice 
of  these  acts,  with  intent  to  rest  on  that  principle  the  cause  of 
their  nullity  ;  but  to  show  that  experience  confirms  the  propriety  of 
those  political  principles,  which  exempt  us  from  the  jurisdiction 
VOL.  i.  9 


130  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

of  the  British  Parliament.  The  true  ground  on  which  we  declare 
these  acts  void,  is,  that  the  British  Parliament  has  no  right  to  ex- 
ercise authority  over  us. 

That  these  exercises  of  usurped  power  have  not  been  confined 
to  instances  alone,  in  which  themselves  were  interested ;  but  they 
have  also  intermeddled  with  the  regulation  of  the  internal  affairs 
of  the  colonies.  The  act  of  the  9th  of  Anne  for  establishing  a 
post  office  in  America,  seems  to  have  had  little  connection  with 
British  convenience,  except  that  of  accommodating  his  Majesty's 
ministers  and  favorites  with  the  sale  of  a  lucrative  and  easy  office. 

That  thus  have  we  hastened  through  the  reigns  which  preceded 
his  Majesty's,  during  which  the  violation  of  our  rights  were  less 
alarming,  because  repeated  at  more  distant  intervals,  than  that 
rapid  and  bold  succession  of  injuries,  which  is  likely  to  distinguish 
the  present  from  all  other  periods  of  American  story.  Scarcely 
have  our  minds  been  able  to  emerge  from  the  astonishment  into 
which  one  stroke  of  Parliamentary  thunder  has  involved  us,  before 
another  more  heavy  and  more  alarming  is  fallen  on  us.  Single 
acts  of  tyranny  may  be  ascribed  to  the  accidental  opinion  of  a 
day ;  but  a  series  of  oppressions,  begun  at  a  distinguished  period, 
and  pursued  unalterably  through  every  change  of  ministers,  too 
plainly  prove  a  deliberate,  systematical  plan  of  reducing  us  to 
slavery. 

Act  for  ^ranting  That  the  act  passed  in  the  fourth  year  of  his  Ma- 
terial n  duties.  * 

jesty's  reign,  entitled  '  an  act 
stamp  act.  One  other  act  passed  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  reign, 

entitled  '  an  act 
Act  declaring        One  other  act  passed  in  the  sixth  year  of  his  reign, 

the  right  of  Par-  * 

liament  over  the  entitled   'ail  act 

colonies. 

Act  for  granting      And  one  other  act  passed  in  the  seventh  year  of 

duties  on  paper,      .  » 

tea,&c.  his  reign,  entitled  'an  act 

Form  that  connected  chain  of  Parliamentary  usur- 
pation, which  has  already  been  the  subject  of  fre- 
quent applications  to  his  Majesty,  and  the  Houses  of 
Lords  and  Commons  of  Great  Britain ;  and,  no  an- 
swers having  yet  been  condescended  to  any  of  these, 


APPENDIX.  131 

we  shall  not  trouble  his  Majesty  with  a  repetition  of 
the  matters  they  contained. 

But  that  one  other  act  passed  in  the  same  seventh  Act  suspending 

legislature  of 

year  of  his  reign,  having   been  a  peculiar   attempt,  New-York, 
must  ever  require  peculiar  mention.      It  is  entitled 
1  an  act 

One  free  and  independent  legislature,  hereby  takes  upon  itself 
to  suspend  the  powers  of  another,  free  and  independent  as  itself. 
Thus  exhibiting  a  phenomenon  unknown  in  nature,  the  creator, 
and  creature  of  its  own  power.  Not  only  the  principles  of  com- 
mon sense,  but  the  common  feelings  of  human  nature  must  be 
surrendered  up,  before  his  Majesty's  subjects  here,  can  be  persua- 
ded to  believe,  that  they  hold  their  political  existence  at  the  will 
of  a  British  Parliament.  Shall  these  governments  be  dissolved, 
their  property  annihilated,  and  their  people  reduced  to  a  state  of 
nature,  at  the  imperious  breath  of  a  body  of  men  whom  they 
never  saw,  in  whom  they  never  confided,  and  over  whom  they 
have  no  powers  of  punishment  or  removal,  let  their  crimes  against 
the  American  public  be  ever  so  great  ?  Can  any  one  reason  be 
assigned,  why  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  electors  in  the 
island  of  Great  Britain,  should  give  law  to  four  millions  in  the 
States  of  America,  every  individual  of  whom  is  equal  to  every 
individual  of  them  in  virtue,  in  understanding,  and  in  bodily 
strength  ?  Were  this  to  be  admitted,  instead  of  being  a  free  peo- 
ple, as  we  have  hitherto  supposed,  and  mean  to  continue  ourselves, 
we  should  suddenly  be  found  the  slaves,  not  of  one,  but  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand  tyrants  ;  distinguished,  too,  from  all 
others,  by  this  singular  circumstance,  that  they  are  removed  from 
the  reach  of  fear,  the  only  restraining  motive  which  may  hold 
the  hand  of  a  tyrant. 

That,  by  ;  an  act  to  discontinue  in  such  manner,  and  for  such 
time  as  are  therein  mentioned,  the  landing  and  discharging,  lading 
or  shipping  of  goods,  wares  and  merchandize,  at  the  town  and 
within  the  harbor  of  Boston,  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts 
bay,  in  North  America,'*  which  was  past  at  the  last  session  of  the 

*  H.  G.  3. 


132  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

British  Parliament,  a  large  and  populous  town,  whose  trade  was 
their  sole  subsistence,  was  deprived  of  that  trade,  and  involved  in 
utter  ruin.  Let  us  for  a  while,  suppose  the  question  of  right  sus- 
pended, in  order  to  examine  this  act  on  principles  of  justice.  An 
act  of  Parliament  had  been  passed,  imposing  duties  on  teas,  to  be 
paid  in  America,  against  which  act  the  Americans  had  protested, 
as  inauthoritative.  The  East  India  Company,  who  till  that  time, 
had  never  sent  a  pound  of  tea  to  America  on  their  own  account, 
step  forth  on  that  occasion,  the  asserters  of  Parliamentary  right, 
and  send  hither  many  ship  loads  of  that  obnoxious  commodity. 
The  masters  of  their  several  vessels,  however,  on  their  arrival  in 
America,  wisely  attended  to  admonition,  and  returned  with  their 
cargoes.  In  the  province  of  New-England  alone,  the  remon- 
strances of  the  people  were  disregarded,  and  a  compliance,  after 
being  many  days  waited  for,  was  flatly  refused.  Whether  in  this, 
the  master  of  the  vessel  was  governed  by  his  obstinacy,  or  his  in- 
structions, let  those  who  know,  say.  There  are  extraordinary 
situations  which  require  extraordinary  interposition.  An  exaspe- 
rated people,  who  feel  that  they  possess  power,  are  not  easily  re- 
strained within  limits  strictly  regular.  A  number  of  them  assem- 
bled in  the  town  of  Boston,  threw  the  tea  into  the  ocean,  and 
dispersed  without  doing  any  other  act  of  violence.  If  in  this  they 
did  wrong,  they  were  known,  and  were  amenable  to  the  laws  of 
the  land  ;  against  which,  it  could  not  be  objected,  that  they  had 
ever,  in  any  instance,  been  obstructed  or  diverted  from  the  regu- 
lar course,  in  favor  of  popular  offenders.  They  should,  therefore, 
not  have  been  distrusted  on  this  occasion.  But  that  ill-fated 
colony  had  formerly  been  bold  in  their  enmities  against  the  House 
of  Stuart,  and  were  now  devcted  to  ruin,  by  that  unseen  hand 
which  governs  the  momentous  affairs  of  this  great  empire.  On 
the  partial  representations  of  a  few  worthless  ministerial  depend- 
ants, whose  constant  office  it  has  been  to  keep  that  government 
embroiled,  and  who,  by  their  treacheries,  hope  to  obtain  the  dig- 
nity of  British  knighthood,  without  calling  for  a  party  accused, 
without  asking  a  proof,  without  attempting  a  distinction  between 
the  guilty  and  the  innocent,  the  whole  of  that  ancient  and 


APPENDIX.  133 

wealthy  town,  is  in  a  moment  reduced  from  opulence  to  beggary. 
Men  who  had  spent  their  lives  in  extending  the  British  commerce, 
who  had  invested,  in  that  place,  the  wealth  their  honest  endeav- 
ors had  merited,  found  themselves  and  their  families,  thrown  at 
once  on  the  world,  for  subsistence  by  its  charities.  Not  the  hun- 
dredth part  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  town,  had  been  concerned 
in  the  act  complained  of ;  many  of  them  were  in  Great  Britain, 
and  in  other  parts  beyond  sea ;  yet  all  were  involved  in  one  in- 
discriminate ruin,  by  a  new  executive  power,  unheard  of  till  then, 
that  of  a  British  Parliament.  A  property  of  the  value  of  many 
millions  of  money,  was  sacrificed  to  revenge,  not  repay,  the  loss 
of  a  few  thousands.  This  is  administering  justice  with  a  heavy 
hand  indeed !  And  when  is  this  tempest  to  be  arrested  in  its 
course  ?  Two  wharves  are  to  be  opened  again  when  his  Majesty 
shall  think  proper:  the  residue, which  lined  the  extensive  shores 
of  the  bay  of  Boston,  are  forever  interdicted  the  exercise  of  com- 
merce. This  little  exception  seems  to  have  been  thrown  in  for 
no  other  purpose,  than  that  of  setting  a  precedent  for  investing  his 
Majesty  with  legislative  powers.  If  the  pulse  of  his  people  shall 
beat  calmly  under  this  experiment,  another  and  another  will  be 
tried,  till  the  measure  of  despotism  be  filled  up.  It  would  be  an 
insult  on  common  sense,  to  pretend  that  this  exception  was  made, 
in  order  to  restore  its  commerce  to  that  great  town.  The  trade, 
which  cannot  be  received  at  two  wharves  alone,  must  of  neces- 
sity be  transferred  to  some  other  place ;  to  which  it  will  soon  be 
followed  by  that  of  the  two  wharves.  Considered  in  this  light, 
it  would  be  an  insolent  and  cruel  mockery  at  the  annihilation  of 
the  town  of  Boston.  By  the  act  for  the  suppression  of  riots 
and  tumults  in  the  town  of  Boston,*  passed  also  in  the  last  ses- 
sion of  Parliament,  a  murder  committed  there,  is,  if  the  Governor 
pleases,  to  be  tried  in  the  court  of  King's  bench,  in  the  island  of 
Great  Britain,  by  a  jury  of  Middlesex.  The  witnesses,  too,  on 
receipt  of  such  a  sum  as  the  Governor  shall  think  it  reasonable 
for  them  to  expend,  are  to  enter  into  recognizance  to  appear  at 
the  trial.  This  is,  in  other  words,  taxing  them  to  the  amount  of 

*  14.  G.  3. 


134  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

their  recognizance  ;  and  that  amount  may  be  whatever  a  Gover- 
nor pleases.  For  who  does  his  Majesty  think  can  be  prevailed 
on  to  cross  the  Atlantic  for  the  sole  purpose  of  bearing  evidence 
to  a  fact  ?  His  expenses  are  to  be  borne,  indeed,  as  they  shall  be 
estimated  by  a  Governor;  but  who  are  to  feed  the  wife  and 
children  whom  he  leaves  behind,  and  who  have  had  no  other 
subsistence  but  his  daily  labor  ?  Those  epidemical  disorders,  too, 
so  terrible  in  a  foreign  climate,  is  the  cure  of  them  to  be  estimated 
among  the  articles  of  expense,  and  their  danger  to  be  warded  off 
by  the  Almighty  power  of  a  Parliament?  And  the  wretched 
criminal,  if  he  happen  to  have  offended  on  the  American  side, 
stripped  of  his  privilege  of  trial  by  peers  of  his  vicinage,  removed 
from  the  place  where  alone  full  evidence  could  be  obtained,  with- 
out money,  without  counsel,  without  friends,  without  exculpatory 
proof,  is  tried  before  Judges  predetermined  to  condemn.  The 
cowards  who  would  suffer  a  countryman  to  be  torn  from  the 
bowels  of  their  society,  in  order  to  be  thus  offered  a  sacrifice  to 
Parliamentary  tyranny,  would  merit  that  everlasting  infamy  now 
fixed  on  the  authors  of  the  act !  A  clause,  for  a  similar  purpose, 
had  been  introduced  into  an  act  passed  in  the  twelfth  year  of  his 
Majesty's  reign,  entitled,  '  an  act  for  the  better  securing  and  pre- 
serving his  Majesty's  Dock-yards,  Magazines,  Ships,  Ammunition 
and  Stores  ;'  against  which,  as  meriting  the  same  censures,  the 
several  colonies  have  already  protested. 

That  these  are  the  acts  of  power,  assumed  by  a  body  of  men 
foreign  to  our  constitutions,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws  ; 
against  which  we  do,  on  behalf  of  the  inhabitants  of  British 
America,  enter  this,  our  solemn  and  determined  protest.  And  we 
do  earnestly  intreat  his  Majesty,  as  yet  the  only  mediatory  power 
between  the  several  States  of  the  British  empire,  to  recommend 
to  his  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  the  total  revocation  of  these 
acts,  which,  however  nugatory  they  may  be,  may  yet  prove  the 
cause  of  further  discontents  and  jealousies  among  us. 

That  we  next  proceed  to  consider  the  conduct  of  his  Majesty, 
as  holding  the  Executive  powers  of  the  laws  of  these  States,  and 
mark  out  his  deviations  from  the  line  of  duty.  By  the  Constitu- 


APPENDIX.  135 

tion  of  Great  Britain,  as  well  as  of  the  several  American  States, 
his  Majesty  possesses  the  power  of  refusing  to  pass  into  a  law, 
any  bill  which  has  already  passed  the  other  two  branches  of  the 
legislature.  His  Majesty,  however,  and  his  ancestors,  conscious 
of  the  impropriety  of  opposing  their  single  opinion  to  the  united 
wisdom  of  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  while  their  proceedings 
were  unbiassed  by  interested  principles,  for  several  ages  past,  have 
modestly  declined  the  exercise  of  this  power,  in  that  part  of  his 
empire  called  Great  Britain.  But,  by  change  of  circumstances, 
other  principles  than  those  of  justice  simply,  have  obtained  an 
influence  on  their  determinations.  The  addition  of  new  States 
to  the  British  empire  has  produced  an  addition  of  new,  and, 
sometimes,  opposite  interests.  It  is  now,  therefore,  the  great 
office  of  his  Majesty  to  resume  the  exercise  of  his  negative 
power,  and  to  prevent  the  passage  of  laws  by  any  one  legislature 
of  the  empire,  which  might  bear  injuriously  on  the  rights  and  in- 
terests of  another.  Yet  this  will  not  excuse  the  wanton  exercise 
of  this  power,  which  we  have  seen  his  Majesty  practice  on  the 
laws  of  the  American  legislature.  For  the  most  trifling  reasons, 
and,  sometimes  for  no  conceivable  reason  at  all,  his  Majesty  has 
rejected  lawsj^f  the  most  salutary  tendency.  The  abolition  of 
domestic  slavery  is  the  great  object  of  desire  in  those  colonies, 
where  it  was,  unhappily,  introduced  in  their  infant  state.  But 
previous  to  the  enfranchisement  of  the  slaves  we  have,  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  exclude  all  further  importations  from  Africa.  Yet  our 
repeated  attempts  to  effect  this,  by  prohibitions,  and  by  imposing 
duties  which  might  amount  to  a  prohibition,  having  been  hitherto 
defeated  by  his  Majesty's  negative  :  thus  preferring  the  imme- 
diate advantages  of  a  few  British  cofsairs,  to  the  lasting  interests 
of  the  American  States,  and  to  the  rights  of  human  nature,  c — 
deeply  wounded  by  this  infamous  practice.  Nay,  the  single  in- 
terposition of  an  interested  individual  against  a  law  was  scarcely 
ever  known  to  fail  of  success,  though,  in  the  opposite  scale,  were 
placed  the  interests  of  a  whole  country.  That  this  is  so  shame- 
ful an  abuse  of  a  power,  trusted  with  his  Majesty  for  other  pur- 
poses, as  if,  not  reformed,  would  call  for  some  legal  restrictions. 


136  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

With  equal  inattention  to  the  necessities  of  his  people  here, 
has  his  Majesty  permitted  our  laws  to  lie  neglected,  in  England, 
for  years,  neither  confirming  them  by  his  assent,  nor  annulling 
them  hy  his  negative  :  so,  that  such  of  them  as  have  no  sus- 
pending clause,  we  hold  on  the  most  precarious  of  all  tenures, 
his  Majesty's  will ;  and  such  of  them  as  suspend  themselves  till 
his  Majesty's  assent  be  obtained,  we  have  feared  might  be  called 
into  existence  at  some  future  and  distant  period,  when  time  and 
change  of  circumstances  shall  have  rendered  them  destructive 
to  his  people  here.  And,  to  render  this  grievance  still  more 
oppressive,  his  Majesty,  by  his  instructions,  has  laid  his  Gov- 
ernors under  such  restrictions,  that  they  can  pass  no  law,  of  any 
moment,  unless  it  have  such  suspending  clause  :  so  that,  how- 
ever immediate  may  be  the  call  for  legislative  interposition,  the 
law  cannot  be  executed,  till  it  has  twice  crossed  the  Atlantic,  by 
which  time  the  evil  may  have  spent  its  whole  force. 

But  in  what  terms  reconcilable  to  Majesty,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  truth,  shall  we  speak  of  a  late  instruction  to  his  Majesty's 
Governor  of  the  colony  of  Virginia,  by  which  he  is  forbidden  to 
assent  to  any  law  for  the  division  of  a  county,  unless  the  new 
county  will  consent  to  have  no  representative  in  Assembly? 
That  colony  has  as  yet  affixed  no  boundary  to  the  Westward. 
Their  Western  counties,  therefore,  are  of  an  indefinite  extent. 
Some  of  them  are  actually  seated  many  hundred  miles  from  their 
Eastern  limits.  Is  it  possible,  then,  that  his  Majesty  can  have 
bestowed  a  single  thought  on  the  situation  of  those  people,  who 
in  order  to  obtain  justice  for  injuries,  however  great  or  small, 
must,  by  the  laws  of  that  colony,  attend  their  county  court  at 
such  a  distance,  with  all  their  witnesses,  monthly,  till  their  liti- 
gation be  determined?  Or  does  his  Majesty  seriously  wish, 
and  publish  it  to  the  world,  that  his  subjects  should  give  up  the 
glorious  right  of  representation,  with  all  the  benefits  derived  from 
that,  and  submit  themselves  the  absolute  slaves  of  his  sovereign 
will  ?  Or  is  it  rather  meant  to  confine  the  legislative  body  to 
their  present  numbers,  that  they  may  be  the  cheaper  bargain, 
whenever  they  shall  become  worth  a  purchase  ? 


APPENDIX.  137 

One  of  the  articles  of  impeachment  against  Tresilian,  and  the 
other  Judges  of  Westminster  Hall,  in  the  reign  of  Richard  the 
Second,  for  which  they  suffered  death,  as  traitors  to  their  coun- 
try, was,  that  they  had  advised  the  King,  that  he  might  dissolve 
his  Parliament  at  any  time  ;  and  succeeding  kings  have  adopted 
the  opinion  of  these  unjust  Judges.  Since  the  establishment, 
however,  of  the  British  constitution,  at  the  glorious  Revolution, 
on  its  free  and  ancient  principles,  neither  his  Majesty,  nor  his 
ancestors,  have  exercised  such  a  power  of  dissolution  in  the 
island  of  Great  Britain  ;*  and  when  his  Majesty  was  petitioned, 
by  the  united  voice  of  his  people  there,  to  dissolve  the  present 
Parliament,  who  had  become  obnoxious  to  them,  his  Ministers 
were  heard  to  declare,  in  open  Parliament,  that  his  Majesty  pos- 
sessed no  such  power  by  the  constitution.  But  how  different 
their  language,  and  his  practice,  here  !  To  declare,  as  their  duty 
required,  the  known  rights  of  their  country,  to  oppose  the  usurp- 
ation of  every  foreign  judicature,  to  disregard  the  imperious 
mandates  of  a  Minister  or  Governor,  have  been  the  avowed 
causes  of  dissolving  Houses  of  Representatives  in  America.  But 
if  such  powers  be  really  vested  in  his  Majesty,  can  he  suppose 
they  are  there  placed  to  awe  the  members  from  such  purposes  as 
these  ?  When  the  representative  body  have  lost  the  confidence 
of  their  constituents,  when  they  have  notoriously  made  sale  of 
their  most  valuable  rights,  when  they  have  assumed  to  them- 
selves powers  which  the  people  never  put  into  their  hands,  then, 
indeed,  their  continuing  in  office  becomes  dangerous  to  the  State, 
and  calls  for  an  exercise  of  the  power  of  dissolution.  Such  being 
the  cause  for  which  the  representative  body  should,  and  should 
not,  be  dissolved,  will  it  not  appear  strange,  to  an  unbiassed 
observer,  that  that  of  Great  Britain  was  not  dissolved,  while 
those  of  the  colonies  have  repeatedly  incurred  fhat  sentence  ? 

But  your  Majesty,  or  your  Governors,  have  carried  this  power 

*  On  further  inquiry,  I  find  two  instances  of  dissolutions  before  the  Parliament 
would,  of  itself,  have  been  at  an  end  :  viz.,  the  Parliament  called  to  meet  August  24, 
1698,  was  dissolved  by  King  William,  December  19,  1700,  and  a  new  one  called,  to 
meet  February  6,  1701,  which  was  also  dissolved,  November  11,  1701,  and  a  new 
one  met  December  30,  1701. 


138  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

beyond  every  limit  known  or  provided  for  by  the  laws.  Aftei 
dissolving  one  House  of  Representatives,  they  have  refused  to 
call  another,  so  that,  for  a  great  length  of  time,  the  legislature 
provided  by  the  laws,  has  been  out  of  existence.  From  the  na- 
ture of  things,  every  society  must,  at  all  times,  possess  within 
itself  the  sovereign  powers  of  legislation.  The  feelings  of  hu- 
man nature  revolt  against  the  supposition  of  a  State  so  situated, 
as  that  it  may  not,  in  any  emergency,  provide  against  dangers 
which,  perhaps,  threaten  immediate  ruin.  While  those  bodies 
are  in  existence  to  whom  the  people  have  delegated  the  powers 
of  legislation,  they  alone  possess,  and  may  exercise,  those  powers. 
But  when  they  are  dissolved,  by  the  lopping  off  one  or  more  of 
their  branches,  the  power  reverts  to  the  people,  who  may  use  it 
to  unlimited  extent,  either  assembling  together  in  person,  sending 
deputies,  or  in  any  other  way  they  may  think  proper.  We  for- 
bear to  trace  consequences  further  ;  the  dangers  are  conspicuous 
with  which  this  practice  is  replete. 

That  we  shall,  at  this  time  also,  take  notice  of  an  error  in  the 
nature  of  our  land  holdings,  which  crept  in  at  a  very  early  period 
of  our  settlement.  The  introduction  of  the  Feudal  tenures  into 
the  kingdom  of  England,  though  ancient,  is  well  enough  under- 
stood to  set  this  matter  in  a  proper  light.  In  the  earlier  ages  of 
the  Saxon  settlement,  feudal  holdings  were  certainly  altogether 
unknown,  and  very  few,  if  any,  had  been  introduced  at  the  time 
of  the  Norman  conquest.  Our  Saxon  ancestors  held  their  lands, 
as  they  did  their  personal  property,  in  absolute  dominion,  disin- 
cumbered  with  any  superior,  answering  nearly  to  the  nature  of 
those  possessions  which  the  Feudalist  term  Allodial.  William 
the  Norman,  first  introduced  that  system  generally.  The  lands 
which  had  belonged  to  those  who  fell  in  the  battle  of  Hastings, 
and  in  the  subsequent  insurrections  of  his  reign,  formed  a  consid- 
erable proportion  of  the  lands  of  the  whole  kingdom.  These  he 
granted  out,  subject  to  feudal  duties,  as  did  he  also  those  of 
a  great  number  of  his  new  subjects,  who,  by  persuasions  or 
threats,  were  induced  to  surrender  them  for  that  purpose.  But 
still,  much  was  left  in  the  hands  of  his  Saxon  subjects,  held  of 


APPENDIX.  139 

no  superior,  and  not  subject  to  feudal  conditions.  These, 
therefore,  by  express  laws,  enacted  to  render  uniform  the  sys- 
tem of  military  defence,  were  made  liable  to  the  same  military 
duties  as  if  they  had  been  feuds  ;  and  the  Norman  lawyers  soon 
found  means  to  saddle  them,  also,  with  the  other  feudal  bur- 
thens. But  still  they  had  not  been  surrendered  to  the  King, 
they  were  not  derived  from  his  grant,  and  therefore  they  were 
not  holden  of  him.  A  general  principle  was  introduced,  that 
"  all  lands  in  England  were  held  either  mediately  or  immedi- 
ately of  the  Crown  ;"  but  this  was  borrowed  from  those  hold- 
ings which  were  truly  feudal,  and  only  applied  to  others  for 
the  purposes  of  illustration.  Feudal  holdings  were,  therefore, 
but  exceptions  out  of  the  Saxon  laws  of  possession,  under 
which  all  lands  were  held  in  absolute  right.  These,  therefore, 
still  form  the  basis  or  groundwork  of  the  Common  law,  to 
prevail  wheresoever  the  exceptions  have  not  taken  place. 
America  was  not  conquered  by  William  the  Norman,  nor  its 
lands  surrendered  to  him  or  any  of  his  successors.  Possessions 
there  are,  undoubtedly,  of  the  Allodial  nature.  Our  ancestors, 
however,  who  migrated  hither,  were  laborers,  not  lawyers. 
The  fictitious  principle,  that  all  lands  belong  originally  to  the 
King,  they  were  early  persuaded  to  believe  real,  and  accord- 
ingly took  grants  of  their  own  lands  from  the  Crown.  And 
while  the  Crown  continued  to  grant  for  small  sums  and  on 
reasonable  rents,  there  was  no  inducement  to  arrest  the  error, 
and  lay  it  open  to  public  view.  But  his  Majesty  has  lately  \ 
taken  on  him  to  advance  the  terms  of  purchase  and  of  holding,  | 
to  the  double  of  what  they  were  ;  by  which  means,  the  acqui- 
sition of  lands  being  rendered  difficult,  the  population  of  our 
country  is  likely  to  be  checked.  It  is  time,  therefore,  for  us  to  \ 
lay  this  matter  before  his  Majesty,  and  to  declare,  that  he  has 
no  right  to  grant  lands  of  himself.  From  the  nature  and  pur- 
pose of  civil  institutions,  all  the  lands  within  the  limits,  which 
any  particular  party  has  circumscribed  around  itself,  are  assumed 
by  that  society,  and  subject  to  their  allotment ;  this  may  be 
done  by  themselves  assembled  collectively,  or  by  their  legisla- 


140  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

ture,  to  whom  they  may  have  delegated  sovereign  authority  , 
and,  if  they  are  allotted  in  neither  of  these  ways,  each  indivi- 
dual of  the  society,  may  appropriate  to  himself  such  lands  as  he 
finds  vacant,  and  occupancy  will  give  him  title. 

That,  in  order  to  enforce  the  arbitrary  measures  before  com- 
plained of,  his  Majesty  has,  from  time  to  time,  sent  among  us 
large  bodies  of  armed  forces,  not  made  up  of  the  people  here, 
nor  raised  by  the  authority  of  our  laws.  Did  his  Majesty  pos- 
sess such  a  right  as  this,  it  might  swallow  up  all  our  other  rights, 
whenever  he  should  think  proper.  But  his  Majesty  has  no 
right  to  land  a  single  armed  man  on  our  shores ;  and  those 
whom  he  sends  here  are  liable  to  our  laws,  for  the  suppression 
and  punishment  of  riots,  routs,  and  unlawful  assemblies,  or 
are  hostile  bodies  invading  us  in  defiance  of  law.  When,  in 
the  course  of  the  late  war,  it  became  expedient  that  a  body  of 
Hanoverian  troops  should  be  brought  over  for  the  defence  of 
Great  Britain,  his  Majesty's  grandfather,  our  late  sovereign,  did 
not  pretend  to  introduce  them  under  any  authority  he  possessed. 
.Such  a  measure  would  have  given  just  alarm  to  his  subjects  of 
Great  Britain,  whose  liberties  would  not  be  safe  if  armed  men 
of  another  country,  and  of  another  spirit,  might  be  brought 
into  the  realm  at  any  time,  without  the  consent  of  their  legisla- 
ture. He,  therefore,  applied  to  Parliament,  who  passed  an  act 
for  that  purpose,  limiting  the  number  to  be  brought  in,  and  the 
time  they  were  to  continue.  In  like  manner  is  his  Majesty  re- 
strained in  every  part  of  the  empire.  He  possesses  indeed  the 
executive  power  of  the  laws  in  every  State  ;  but  they  are  the 
laws  of  the  particular  State,  which  he  is  to  administer  within 
that  State,  and  not  those  of  any  one  within  the  limits  of  an- 
another.  Every  State  must  judge  for  itself,  the  number  of 
armed  men  which  they  may  safely  trust  among  them,  of  whom 
they  are  to  consist,  and  under  what  restrictions  they  are  to  be 
laid.  To  render  these  proceedings  still  more  criminal  against 
our  laws,  instead  of  subjecting  the  military  to  the  civil  power, 
his  majesty  has  expressly  made  the  civil  subordinate  to  the  mili- 
tary. But  can  his  Majesty  thus  put  down  all  law  under  his 


APPENDIX.  141 

feet  ?  Can  he  erect  a  power  superior  to  that  which  erected 
himself  ?  He  has  done  it  indeed  by  force  ;  but  let  him  remem- 
ber that  force  cannot  give  right. 

That  these  are  our  grievances,  which  we  have  thus  laid  be- 
fore his  Majesty,  with  that  freedom  of  language  and  sentiment 
which  becomes  a  free  people,  claiming  their  rights  as  derived 
from  the  laws  of  nature>  and  not  as  the  gift  of  their  Chief  Ma- 
gistrate. Let  those  flatter,  who  fear :  it  is  not  an  American 
art.  To  give  praise  where  it  is  not  due  might  be  well  from 
the  venal,  but  would  ill  beseem  those  who  are  asserting  the 
rights  of  human  nature.  They  know,  and  will,  therefore,  say, 
that  Kings  are  the  servants,  not  the  proprietors  of  the  people. 
Open  your  breast,  Sire,  to  liberal  and  expanded  thought.  Let 
not  the  name  of  George  the  third,  be  a  blot  on  the  page  of  his- 
tory. You  are  surrounded  by  British  counsellors,  but  remem- 
ber that  they  are  parties.  You  have  no  ministers  for  American 
affairs,  because  you  have  none  taken  from  among  us,  nor  ame- 
nable to  the  laws  on  which  they  are  to  give  you  advice.  It 
behoves  you,  therefore,  to  think  and  to  act  for  yourself  and 
your  people.  The  great  principles  of  right  and  wrong  are 
legible  to  every  reader ;  to  pursue  them,  requires  not  the  aid  of 
many  counsellors.  The  whole  art  of  government  consists  in 
the  art  of  being  honest.  Only  aim  to  do  your  duty,  and  man- 
kind will  give  you  credit  where  you  fail.  No  longer  persevere 
in  sacrificing  the  rights  of  one  part  of  the  empire  to  the  inor- 
dinate desires  of  another  ;  but  deal  out  to  all,  equal  and  im- 
partial right.  Let  no  act  be  passed  by  any  one  legislature, 
which  may  infringe  on  the  rights  and  liberties  of  another. 
This  is  the  important  post  in  which  fortune  has  placed  you, 
holding  the  balance  of  a  great,  if  a  well-poised  empire.  This, 
Sire,  is  the  advice  of  your  great  American  council,  on  the  ob- 
servance of  which  may  perhaps  depend  your  felicity  and  fu- 
ture fame,  and  the  preservation  of  that  harmony  which  alone 
can  continue,  both  to  Great  Britain  and  America,  the  reciprocal 
advantages  of  their  connection.  It  is  neither  our  wish  nor  our 
interest  to  separate  from  her.  We  are  willing,  on  our  part,  to 


142  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

sacrifice  everything  which  reason  can  ask,  to  the  restoration  of 
that  tranquillity  for  which  all  must  wish.  On  their  part,  let  them 
be  ready  to  establish  union  on  a  generous  plan.  Let  them  name 
their  terms,  but  let  them  be  just.  Accept  of  every  commercial 
preference  it  is  in  our  power  to  give,  for  such  things  as  we  can 
raise  for  their  use,  or  they  make  for  ours.  But  let  them  not  think 
to  exclude  us  from  going  to  other  markets  to  dispose  of  those 
commodities  which  they  cannot  use,  nor  to  supply  those  wants 
which  they  cannot  supply.  Still  less,  let  it  be  proposed,  that  our 
properties,  within  our  own  territories,  shall  be  taxed  or  regulated 
by  any  power  on  earth,  but  our  own.  The  God  who  gave  us  life, 
gave  us  liberty  at  the  same  time  :  the  hand  of  force  may  destroy, 
but  cannot  disjoin  them.  This,  Sire,  is  our  last,  our  determined 
resolution.  And  that  you  will  be  pleased  to  interpose,  with  that 
efficacy  which  your  earnest  endeavors  may  insure,  to  procure 
redress  of  these  our  great  grievances,  to  quiet  the  minds  of  your 
subjects  in  British  America  against  any  apprehensions  of  future 
encroachment,  to  establish  fraternal  love  and  harmony  through 
the  whole  empire,  and  that  that  may  continue  to  the  latest  ages 
of  time,  is  the  fervent  prayer  of  all  British  America. 


[NOTE  D.] 

August,  1774. 

Instructions  for  the  Deputies  appointed  to  meet  in    General 

Congress  on  the  part  of  this  Colony. 

The  unhappy  disputes  between  Great  Britain  and  her  Ameri- 
can colonies,  which  began  about  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of 
his  present  Majesty,  and  since,  continually  increasing,  have  pro- 
ceeded to  lengths  so  dangerous  and  alarming,  as  to  excite  just 
apprehensions  in  the  minds  of  his  Majesty's  faithful  subjects  of 
this  colony,  that  they  are  in  danger  of  being  deprived  of  their 
natural,  ancient,  constitutional,  and  chartered  rights,  have  com- 
pelled them  to  take  the  same  into  their  most  serious  considera- 
tion ;  and,  being  deprived  of  their  usual  and  accustomed  mode  of 
making  known  their  grievances,  have  appointed  us  their  represent- 
atives to  consider  what  is  proper  to  be  done  in  this  dangerous  crisis 


APPENDIX.  143 

of  American  affairs.  It  being  our  opinion  that  the  united  wis- 
dom of  North  America  should  be  collected  in  a  General  Congress 
of  all  the  colonies,  we  have  appointed  the  Honorable  Peyton  Ran- 
dolph, Richard  Henry  Lee,  George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry, 
Richard  Bland,  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  Edmund  Pendleton,  Es- 
quires, deputies  to  represent  this  colony  in  the  said  Congress,  to 
be  held  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  first  Monday  in  September  next. 

And  that  they  may  be  the  better  informed  of  our  sentiments, 
touching  the  conduct  we  wish  them  to  observe  on  this  import- 
ant occasion,  we  desire  that  they  will  express,  in  the  first  place, 
our  faith  and  true  allegiance  to  his  Majesty,  King  George  the 
third,  our  lawful  and  rightful  sovereign  ;  and  that  we  are  deter- 
mined, with  our  lives  and  fortunes,  to  support  him  in  the  legal 
exercise  of  all  his  just  rights  and  prerogatives.  And,  however 
misrepresented,  we  sincerely  approve  of  a  constitutional  con- 
nection with  Great  Britain,  and  wish,  most  ardently,  a  return 
of  that  intercourse  of  affection  and  commercial  connection,  that 
formerly  united  both  countries,  which  can  only  be  effected  by 
a  removal  of  those  causes  of  discontent,  which  have  of  late  un- 
happily divided  us. 

It  cannot  admit  of  a  doubt,  but  the  British  subjects  in  Amer- 
ica are  entitled  to  the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  their  fellow 
subjects  possess  in  Britain ;  and  therefore,  that  the  power  as- 
sumed by  the  British  Parliament  to  bind  America  by  their 
statutes  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  is  unconstitutional,  and  the 
source  of  these  unhappy  differences. 

The  end  of  government  would  be  defeated  by  the  British 
Parliament  exercising  a  power  over  the  lives,  the  property,  and 
the  liberty  of  American  subjects,  who  are  not,  and,  from  their 
local  circumstances,  cannot  be,  there  represented.  Of  this 
nature,  we  consider  the  several  acts  of  Parliament  for  raising  a 
revenue  in  America,  for  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts 
of  Admiralty,  for  seizing  American  subjects,  and  transporting 
them  to  Britain  to  be  tried  for  crimes  committed  in  America, 
and  the  several  late  oppressive  acts  respecting  the  town  of  Bos- 
ton, and  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay. 


144  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

The  original  constitution  of  the  American  colonies  possess- 
ing their  assemblies  with  the  sole  right  of  directing  their  inter- 
nal polity,  it  is  absolutely  destructive  of  the  end  of  their  insti- 
tution, that  their  legislatures  should  be  suspended,  or  prevented, 
by  hasty  dissolutions,  from  exercising  their  legislative  powers. 

Wanting  the  protection  of  Britain,  we  have  long  acquiesced 
in  their  acts  of  navigation,  restrictive  of  our  commerce,  which 
we  consider  as  an  ample  recompense  for  such  protection  ;  but 
as  those  acts  derive  their  efficacy  from  that  foundation  alone, 
we  have  reason  to  expect  they  will  be  restrained,  so  as  to  pro- 
duce the  reasonable  purposes  of  Britain,  and  not  injurious  to  us. 

To  obtain  redress  of  these  grievances,  without  which  the 
people  of  America  can  neither  be  safe,  free,  nor  happy,  they 
are  willing  to  undergo  the  great  inconvenience  that  will  be  de- 
rived to  them,  from  stopping  all  imports  whatever,  from  Great 
Britain,  after  the  first  day  of  November  next,  and  also  to  cease 
exporting  any  commodity  whatsoever,  to  the  same  place,  after 
the  tenth  day  of  August,  1775.  The  earnest  desire  we  have  to 
make  as  quick  and  full  payment  as  possible  of  our  debts  to 
Great  Britain,  and  to  avoid  the  heavy  injury  that  would  arise  to 
this  country  from  an  earlier  adoption  of  the  non-exportation 
plan,  after  the  people  have  already  applied  so  much  of  their 
labor  to  the  perfecting  of  the  present  crop,  by  which  means, 
they  have  been  prevented  from  pursuing  other  methods  of 
clothing  and  supporting  their  families,  have  rendered  it  neces- 
sary to  restrain  you  in  this  article  of  non-exportation  ;  but  it  is 
our  desire,  that  you  cordially  co-operate  with  our  sister  colonies 
in  General  Congress,  in  such  other  just  and  proper  methods  as 
they,  or  the  majority,  shall  deem  necessary  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  these  valuable  ends. 

The  proclamation  issued  by  General  Gage,  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  declaring  it 
treason  for  the  inhabitants  of  that  province  to  assemble  them- 
selves to  consider  of  their  grievances,  and  form  associations  for 
their  common  conduct  on  the  occasion,  and  requiring  the  civil 
magistrates  and  officers  to  apprehend  all  such  persons,  to  be 


APPENDIX.  145 

tried  for  their  supposed  offences,  is  the  most  alarming  process 
that  ever  appeared  in  a  British  government ;  and  the  said  Gene- 
ral Gage  hath,  thereby,  assumed,  and  taken  upon  himself, 
powers  denied  by  the  constitution  to  our  legal  sovereign  ;  that 
he,  not  having  condescended  to  disclose  by  what  authority  he 
exercises  such  extensive  and  unheard  of  powers,  we  are  at  a 
loss  to  determine,  whether  he  intends  to  justify  himself  as  the 
representative  of  the  King,  or  as  the  Commander-in-Chief  of 
his  Majesty's  forces  in  America.  If  he  considers  himself  as  acting 
in  the  character  of  his  Majesty's  representative,  we  would  remind 
him  that  the  statute  25th,  Edward  the  third  has  expressed  and 
defined  all  treasonable  offences,  and  that  the  legislature  of  Great 
Britain  had  declared,  that  no  offence  shall  be  construed  to  be  trea- 
son, but  such  as  is  pointed  out  by  that  statute,  and  that  this  was 
done  to  take  out  of  the  hands  of  tyrannical  Kings,  and  of  weak 
and  wicked  Ministers,  that  deadly  weapon,  which  constructive 
treason  had  furnished  them  with,  and  which  had  drawn  the 
blood  of  the  best  and  honestest  men  in  the  kingdom ;  and  that 
the  King  of  Great  Britain  hath  no  right  by  his  proclamation, 
to  subject  his  people  to  imprisonment,  pains,  and  penalties. 

That  if  the  said  General  Gage  conceives  he  is  empowered  to 
act  in  this  manner,  as  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  his  Majesty's 
forces  in  America,  this  odious  and  illegal  proclamation  must  be 
considered  as  a  plain  and  full  declaration,  that  this  despotic  Vice- 
roy will  be  bound  by  no  law,  nor  regard  the  constitutional  rights 
of  his  Majesty's  subjects,  whenever  they  interfere  with  the  plan 
he  has  formed  for  oppressing  the  good  people  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay ;  and,  therefore,  that  the  executing,  or  attempting  to 
execute,  such  proclamations,  will  justify  resistance  and  reprisal. 


[NOTE  K] 

DEAR  Sin  Monticello,  November  1,  1778. 

I  have  got  through  the  bill  for  "  proportioning  crimes  and  pun- 
ishments in  cases  heretofore  capital,"  and  now  enclose  it  to  you 
with  a  request  that  you  will  be  so  good,  as  scrupulously  to  exam- 

VOL.  I.  10 


146  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

ine  and  correct  it,  that  it  may  be  presented  to  our  committee 
with  as  few  defects  as  possible.  In  its  style,  I  have  aimed  at  ac- 
curacy, brevity,  and  simplicity,  preserving,  however,  the  very 
words  of  the  established  law,  wherever  their  meaning  had  been 
sanctioned  by  judicial  decisions,  or  rendered  technical  by  usage. 
The  same  matter,  if  couched  in  the  modern  statutory  language, 
with  all  its  tautologies,  redundancies,  and  circumlocutions,  would 
have  spread  itself  over  many  pages,  and  been  unintelligible  to 
those  whom  it  most  concerns.  Indeed,  I  wished  to  exhibit  a  sam- 
ple of  reformation  in  the  barbarous  style  into  which  modern  stat- 
utes have  degenerated  from  their  ancient  simplicity.  And  I  must 
pray  you  to  be  as  watchful  over  what  I  have  not  said,  as  what  is 
said  ;  for  the  omissions  of  this  bill  have  all  their  positive  mean- 
ing. I  have  thought  it  better  to  drop,  in  silence,  the  laws  we 
mean  to  discontinue,  and  let  them  be  swept  away  by  the  general 
negative  words  of  this,  than  to  detail  them  in  clauses  of  express 
repeal.  By  the  side  of  the  text  I  have  written  the  notes  I  made, 
as  I  went  along,  for  the  benefit  of  my  own  memory.  They  may 
serve  to  draw  your  attention  to  questions,  to  which  the  express- 
ions or  the  omissions  of  the  text  may  give  rise.  The  extracts 
from  the  Anglo-Saxon  laws,  the  sources  of  the  Common  law,  I 
wrote  in  their  original,  for  my  own  satisfaction  ;*  but  I  have 
added  Latin,  or  liberal  English  translations.  From  the  time 
of  Canute  to  that  of  the  Magna  Charta,  you  know,  the  text 
of  our  statutes  is  preserved  to  us  in  Latin  only,  and  some  old 
French. 

I  have  strictly  observed  the  scale  of  punishments  settled  by  the 
Committee,  without  being  entirely  satisfied  with  it.  The  Lex 
talionis,  although  a  restitution  of  the  Common  law,  to  the  sim- 
plicity of  which  we  have  generally  found  it  so  advantageous  to 
return,  will  be  revolting  to  the  humanized  feelings  of  modern 
times.  An  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  hand  for  a  hand,  will  exhibit 
spectacles  in  execution  whose  moral  effect  would  be  question- 
able ;  and  even  the  membrum  pro  membra  of  Bracton,  or  the 

[*  In  this  publication,  the  original  Saxon  words  are  given,  but,  owing  to  the 
want  of  Saxon  letter,  they  are  printed  in  common  type.] 


APPENDIX.  147 

punishment  of  the  offending  member,  although  long  authorized 
by  our  law,  for  the  same  offence  in  a  slave  has,  you  know,  been 
not  long  since  repealed,  in  conformity  with  public  sentiment. 
This  needs  reconsideration. 

I  have  heard  little  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Assembly,  and  do 
not  expect  to  be  with  you  till  about  the  close  of  the  month.  In 
the  meantime,  present  me  respectfully  to  Mrs.  Wythe,  and  accept 
assurances  of  the  affectionate  esteem  and  respect  of,  dear  Sir, 

Your  friend  and  servant. 

George  Wythe,  Esq. 


A  Bill  for  proportioning  Crimes  and  Punishments,  in  cases 
heretofore  Capital. 

Whereas,  it  frequently  happens  that  wicked  and  dissolute  men, 
resigning  themselves  to  the  dominion  of  inordinate  passions,  com- 
mit violations  on  the  lives,  liberties,  and  property  of  others,  and, 
the  secure  enjoyment  of  these  having  principally  induced  men 
to  enter  into  society,  government  would  be  defective  in  its  prin- 
cipal purpose,  were  it  not  to  restrain  such  criminal  acts,  by  in- 
flicting due  punishments  on  those  who  perpetrate  them  ;  but  it 
appears,  at  the  same  time,  equally  deducible  from  the  purposes  of 
society,  that  a  member  thereof,  committing  an  inferior  injury,  does 
not  wholly  forfeit  the  protection  of  his  fellow  citizens,  but,  after 
suffering  a  punishment  in  proportion  to  his  offence,  is  entitled  to 
their  protection  from  all  greater  pain,  so  that  it  becomes  a  duty 
in  the  legislature  to  arrange,  in  a  proper  scale,  the  crimes  which 
it  may  be  necessary  for  them  to  repress,  and  to  adjust  thereto  a 
corresponding  gradation  of  punishments. 

And  whereas,  the  reformation  of  offenders,  though  an  object 
worthy  the  attention  of  the  laws,  is  not  effected  at  all  by  capital 
punishments,  which  exterminate  instead  of  reforming,  and  should 
be  the  last  melancholy  resource  against  those  whose  existence  is 
become  inconsistent  with  the  safety  of  their  fellow  citizens,  which 
ilso  weaken  the  State,  by  cutting  off  so  many  who,  if  reformed, 


148  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

might  be  restored  sound  members  to  society,  who,  even  under  a 
course  of  correction,  might  be  rendered  useful  in  various  labors 
for  the  public,  and  would  be  living  and  long-continued  spectacles 
to  deter  others  from  committing  the  like  offences. 

And  forasmuch  as  the  experience  of  all  ages  and  countries  hath 
shown,  that  cruel  and  sanguinary  laws  defeat  their  own  purpose, 
by  engaging  the  benevolence  of  mankind  to  withhold  prosecu- 
tions, to  smother  testimony,  or  to  listen  to  it  with  bias,  when,  if  the 
punishment  were  only  proportioned  to  the  injury,  men  would  feel 
it  their  inclination,  as  well  as  their  duty,  to  see  the  laws  observed. 

For  rendering  crimes  and  punishments,  therefore,  more  pro- 
portionate to  each  other : 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly,  that  no  crime  shall  be 
henceforth  punished  by  the  deprivation  of  life  or  limb,*  except 
those  hereinafter  ordained  to  be  so  punished. 

f  If  a  man  do  levy  warj  against  the  Commonweath  [in  the 
same],  or  be  adherent  to  the  enemies  of  the  Commonwealth 
[within  the  same],§  giving  to  them  aid  or  comfort  in  the  Com- 

*  This  takes  away  the  punishment  of  cutting  off  the  hand  of  a  person  striking  an 
other,  or  drawing  his  sword  in  one  of  the  superior  courts  of  justice.  Stamf.  P.  C. 
38.  33.  H.  8.  c.  12.  In  an  earlier  stage  of  the  Common  law,  it  was  death.  Gif  hwa 
gefeohte  on  Cyniuges  huse  sy  he  scyldig  ealles  his  yrfes,  and  sy  on  Cyninges  dome 
hwaether  he  lif  age  de  nage :  si  quis  in  regis  domo  pugnet,  perdat  omnem  suam  haere- 
ditatem,  et  in  regis  sit  arbitrio,  possideat  vilam  an  non  possideat.  LI.  Inae.  6.  Gif 
hwa  on  Cyninges  healle  gefeohte,  oththe  his  waepne  gebredc,  and  hine  mon  gefo,  sy 
thset  on  Cyninges  dome  swa  death,  swa  lif,  swa  he  him  forgyfan  wille:  si  quis  in  aula 
regia  puguet,  vel  arma  sua  extrahat  et  capiatur,  sit  in  regis  arbitrio  tarn  mors  quam 
vita,  sicut  ei  condonare  voluerit.  LI.  Alfr.  7.  Gif  hwa  on  Cyninges  hirede  gefeohte 
tholige  thajt  lifes,  buton  se  Cyning  him  gearian  wille  :  si  quia  in  regia  dinu'cat,  perdat 
vitam,  nisi  rex  hoc  illi  eondonare  velit.  LI.  Cnuti.  56.  4.  131.  125. 

f  25.  E.  3.  st.  5.  c.  2.  7.  W.  3.  c.  3.  §  2. 

\  Though  the  crime  of  an  accomplice  in  treason  is  not  here  described,  yet,  Lord 
Coke  says,  the  partaking  and  maintaining  a  treason  herein  described,  makes  him  a 
principal  in  that  treason :  it  being  a  rule  that  in  treason  all  are  principals.  3  Inst. 
138.  2  Inst.  590.  1  H.  6.  5. 

§  These  words  in  the  English  statute  narrow  its  operation.  A  man  adhering  to 
the  enemies  of  the  Commonwealth,  in  a  foreign  country,  would  certainly  not  be  guilty 
of  treason  with  us,  if  these  words  be  retained.  The  convictions  of  treason  of  that 
land  in  England  have  been  under  that  branch  of  the  statute  \vhich  makes  the  com- 
passing the  king's  death  treason.  Foster  196.  197.  But  as  we  omit  that  branch,  we 
must  by  other  means  reach  this  flagrant  case. 


APPENDIX.  149 

monwealth,  or  elsewhere,  and  thereof  be  convicted  of  open  deed, 
by  the  evidence  of  two  sufficient  witnesses,  or  his  own  voluntary 
confession,  the  said  cases,  and  no*  others,  shall  be  adjudged  trea- 
sons which  extend  to  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  person  so  con- 
victed shall  suffer  death,  by  hanging,!  and  shall  forfeit  his  lands 
and  goods  to  the  Commonwealth. 

If  any  person  commit  petty  treason,  or  a  husband  murder  his 
wife,  a  parent;}:  his  child,  or  a  child  his  parent,  he  shall  suffer 

*  The  stat.  25.  E.  3.  directs  all  other  cases  of  treasons  to  await  the  opinion  of 
Parliament.  This  has  the  effect  of  negative  words,  excluding  all  other  treasons.  As 
we  drop  that  part  of  the  statute,  we  must,  by  negative  words,  prevent  an  inundation 
of  common  law  treasons.  I  strike  out  the  word  "  it,"  therefore,  and  insert  "  the  said 
cases,  and  no  others."  Quaere,  how  far  those  negative  words  may  affect  the  case  of 
accomplices  above  mentioned  ?  Though  if  their  case  was  within  the  statute,  so  as 
that  it  needed  not  await  the  opinion  of  Parliament,  it  should  seem  to  be  also  within 
our  act,  so  as  not  to  be  ousted  by  the  negative  words. 

f  This  implies  "  by  the  neck."     See  2  Hawk.  544.  notes  n.  o. 

\  By  the  stat.  21.  Jac.  1.  c.  27.  and  Act  Ass.  1170.  c.  12.  concealment  by  the  mother 
of  the  death  of  a  bastard  child  is  made  murder.  In  justification  of  this,  it  is  said, 
that  shame  is  a  feeling  which  operates  so  strongly  on  the  mind,  as  frequently  to 
induce  the  mother  of  such  a  child  to  murder  it,  in  order  to  conceal  her  disgrace. 
The  act  of  concealment,  therefore,  proves  she  was  influenced  by  shame,  and  that  in- 
fluence produces  a  presumption  that  she  murdered  the  child.  The  effect  of  this  law 
then  is,  to  make  what,  in  its  nature,  is  only  presumptive  evidence  of  a  murder 
conclusive  of  that  fact.  To  this  I  answer,  1.  So  many  children  die  before  or  soon 
after  birth,  that  to  presume  all  those  murdered  who  aro  found  dead,  is  a  presump- 
tion which  will  lead  us  oftener  wrong  than  right,  and  consequently  would  shed  more 
blood  than  it  would  save.  2.  If  the  child  were  born  dead,  the  mother  would 
naturally  choose  rather  to  conceal  it,  in  hopes  of  still  keeping  a  good  character  in 
the  neighborhood.  So  that  the  act  of  concealment  is  far  from  proving  the  guilt  of 
murder  on  the  mother.  3.  If  shame  be  a  powerful  affection  of  the  mind,  is  not  pa- 
rental love  also  ?  Is  it  not  the  strongest  affection  known  ?  Is  it  not  greater 
than  even  that  of  self-preservation  ?  While  we  draw  presumptions  from  shame,  one 
affection  of  the  mind,  against  the  life  of  the  prisoner,  should  we  not  give  some 
weight  to  presumptions  from  parental  love,  an  affection  at  least  as  strong,  in  favor 
of  life  ?  If  concealment  of  the  fact  is  a  presumptive  evidence  of  murder,  so  strong 
as  to  overbalance  all  other  evidence  that  may  possibly  be  produced  to  take  away  the 
presumption,  why  not  trust  the  force  of  this  incontestable  presumption  to  the  jury, 
who  are,  in  a  regular  course,  to  hear  presumptive,  as  well  as  positive  testimony  ? 
If  the  presumption  arising  from  the  act  of  concealment,  may  be  destroyed  by  proof 
positive  or  circumstantial  to  the  contrary,  why  should  the  legislature  preclude  that 
contrary  proof?  Objection.  The  crime  is  difficult  to  prove,  being  usually  commit- 
ted in  secret  Answer.  But  circumstantial  proof  will  do;  for  example,  marks  of  vio- 
K-nee,  the  behavior,  countenance,  &c.  of  the  prisoner,  &c.  And  if  conclusive  proof 


150  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

death  by  hanging,  and  his  body  be  delivered  to  Anatomists  ta 
be  dissected. 

Whosoever  committeth  murder  by  poisoning  shall  suffei 
death  by  poison. 

Whosoever  committeth  murder  by  way  of  duel  shall  suffer 
death  by  hanging ;  and  if  he  were  the  challenger,  his  body, 
after  death,  shall  be  gibbetted.*  He  who  removeth  it  from  the 
gibbet  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor ;  and  the  officer  shall 
see  that  it  be  replaced. 

Whosoever  shall  commit  murder  in  any  other  way  shall  suf- 
fer death  by  hanging. 

And  in  all  cases  of  Petty  treason  and  murder,  one  half  of  the 
lands  and  goods  of  the  offender,  shall  be  forfeited  to  the  next 
of  kin  to  the  person  killed,  and  the  other  half  descend  and  go 
to  his  own  representatives.  Save  only,  where  one  shall  slay 
the  challenger  in  a  duel,f  in  which  case,  no  part  of  his  lands 
or  goods  shall  be  forfeited  to  the  kindred  of  the  party  slain, 
but,  instead  thereof,  a  moiety  shall  go  to  the  Commonwealth. 

The  same  evidence J  shall  suffice,  and  order  and  course >§,  of 

be  difficult  to  be  obtained,  shall  we  therefore  fasten  irretrievably  upon  equivocal 
proof?  Can  we  change  the  nature  of  what  is  contestuble,  and  make  it  incontest- 
able ?  Can  we  make  that  conclusive  which  God  and  nature  have  made  inconclusive? 
Solon  made  no  law  against  parricide,  supposing  it  impossible  that  any  one  could  be 
guilty  of  it ;  and  the  Persians,  from  the  same  opinion,  adjudged  all  who  killed  their 
reputed  parents  to  be  bastards  ;  and  although  parental  be  yet  stronger  than  filial 
affection,  we*  admit  saticide  proved  on  the  most  equivocal  testimony,  whilst  they 
rejected  all  proof  of  an  act  certainly  not  more  repugnant  to  nature,  as  of  a  thing 
impossible,  unprovable.  See  Beccaria,  §  31. 

*  25.  G.  2.  c.  37. 

f  Quaere,  if  the  estates  of  both  parties  in  a  duel,  should  not  be  forfeited  ?  The 
deceased  is  equally  guilty  with  a  suicide. 

\  Quaere,  if  these  words  may  not  be  omitted  ?  By  the  Common  law,  one  witness 
in  treason  was  sufficient.  Foster  233.  Plowd.  8.  a.  Mirror  c.  3.  ty  34.  Waterhouse 
on  Fortesc.  de  laud.  252.  Ctirth.  144.  per.  Holt.  But  Lord  Coke,  contra  3  iust.  26. 
The  stat.  1.  E.  6.  c.  12.  &  5.  E  6.  c.  11.  first  required  two  witnesses  in  treason.  The 
clause  against  high  treason  supra,  does  the  same  as  to  high  treason  ;  but  it  seems  if 
1st  and  5th  E.  6.  are  dropped,  Petty  treason  will  be  tried  and  proved,  as  at  Common 
law,  by  one  witness.  But  quaere,  Lord  Coke  being  contra,  whose  opinion  it  is  ever 
dangerous  to  neglect 

§  These  words  are  intended  to  take  away  the  peremptory  challenge  of  thirty -fiv« 


APPENDIX.  15] 

trial  be  observed  in  cases  of  Petty  treason,  as  in  those  of  other* 
murders. 

Whosoever  shall  be  guilty  of  manslaughter,!  shall,  for  the 
first  offence,  be  condemned  to  hard!  labor  for  seven  years  in 
the  public  works,  shall  forfeit  one  half  of  his  lands  and  goods 
to  the  next  of  kin  to  the  person  slain ;  the  other  half  to  be 
sequestered  during  such  term,  in  the  hands  and  to  the  use  of 
the  Commonwealth,  allowing  a  reasonable  part  of  the  profits 
for  the  support  of  his  family.  The  second  offence  shall  be 
deemed  murder. 

And  where  persons,  meaning  to  commit  a  trespass^  only,  or 
larceny,  or  other  unlawful  deed,  and  doing  an  act  from  which 
involuntary  homicide  hath  ensued,  have  heretofore  been  ad- 
judged guilty  of  manslaughter,  or  of  murder,  by  transferring 
such  their  unlawful  intention  to  an  act,  much  more  penal  than 
they  could  have  in  probable  contemplation ;  no  such  case  shall 
hereafter  be  deemed  manslaughter,  unless  manslaughter  was  in- 
tended, nor  murder,  unless  murder  was  intended. 

jurors.  The  same  words  being  used  1.  2.  Ph.  <fc  M.  c.  10.  are  deemed  to  have  restored 
the  peremptory  challenge  in  high  treason ;  and  consequently  are  sufficient  to  take  it 
away.  Foster  237. 

*  Petty  treason  is  considered  in  law  only  as  an  aggravated  murder.  Foster  107. 
323.  A  pardon  of  all  murders,  pardons  Petty  treason.  1  Hale  P.  C.  378.  see  2  H. 
P.  C.  340.  342.  It  is  also  included  iu  the  word  "  felony,"  so  that  a  pardon  of  all  felo- 
nies, pardons  Petty  treason. 

f  Manslaughter  is  punishable  at  law,  by  burning  in  the  hands,  and  forfeiture  of 
chattels. 

\  It  is  best,  in  this  act,  to  lay  down  principles  only,  in  order  that  it  may  not  for- 
ever be  undergoing  change  ;  and,  to  carry  into  effect  the  minuter  parts  of  it,  frame  a 
bill  "  for  the  employment  and  government  of  felons,  or  malefactors,  condemned  to 
labor  for  the  Commonwealth,"  which  may  serve  as  an  Appendix  to  this,  and  in 
which  all  the  particulars  requisite  may  be  directed  ;  and  as  experience  will,  from 
time  to  time,  be  pointing  out  amendments,  these  may  be  made  without  touching 
this  fundamental  act.  See  More's  Utopia  p.  50.  for  some  good  hints.  Fugitives 
might,  in  such  a  bill,  be  obliged  to  work  two  days  for  every  one  they  absent  them- 
selves. 

§  The  shooting  at  a  wild  fowl,  a.nd  killing  a  man,  is  homicide  by  misadventure. 
Shooting  at  a  pullet,  without  any  design  to  take  it  away,  is  manslaughter ;  and  with 
a  design  to  take  it  away,  is  murder.  6  Sta.  tr.  222.  To  shoot  at  the  poultry  of  an- 
other, and  thereby  set  fire  to  his  house,  is  arson,  iu  the  opinion  of  some.  Dalt.  c.  116. 
1.  Kale's  P.  C.  569.  c.  contra. 


152  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

In  other  cases  of  homicide,  the  law  will  not  add  to  the  mise- 
ries of  the  party,  by  punishments  and  forfeitures.* 

*  Beccaria.  §  82.  Suicide.  Homicides  are,  1.  Justifiable.  2.  Excusable.  3.  Felo- 
nious. For  the  last,  punishments  have  been  already  provided.  The  first  are  held  to 
be  totally  without  guilt,  or  rather  commendable.  The  second  are  in  some  cases  not 
quite  unblamable.  These  should  subject  the  party  to  marks  of  contrition ;  viz.,  the 
killing  of  a  man  in  defence  of  property ;  so  also  in  defence  of  one's  person,  which  is 
a  species  of  excusable  homicide ;  because,  although  cases  may  happen  where  these 
also  are  commendable,  yet  most  frequently  they  are  done  on  too  slight  appearance 
of  danger  ;  as  in  return  for  a  blow,  kick,  fillip,  ttc.;  or  on  a  person's  getting  into  a 
house,  not  animo  furandi,  but  perhaps  veneris  causa,  Ac.  Bractou  says,  "  si  quis  fu- 
rem  nocturuum  Occident,  ita  demum  impune  foret,  si  parcere  ei  sine  periculo  suo  non 
potuit,  si  autem  potuit,  aliter  erit."  Item  erit  si  quis  hamsokne  quae  dicitur  invasio 
domus  contra  pacem  domini  regis  in  domo  sua  se  defeuderit,  et  invasor  occisus  fuerit ; 
impersecutus  et  insultus  remanebit,  si  ille  quern  invasit  aliter  se  defendere  non  potuit ; 
dicitur  euim  quod  non  est  diguns  habere  pacem  qui  non  vult  observare  earn."  L.  3. 
c.  23.  §  3.  "  Qui  latronem  Occident,  non  tenetur,  nocturnum  vel  diurnum,  si  aliter 
periculum  evadere  non  possit ;  tenetur  tamen  si  possit.  Item  non  tenetur  si  per  in- 
fortunium,  et  non  animo  et  voluntate  occideudi,  nee  dolus,  nee  culpa  ejus  inveniatur." 
L.  3.  c.  36.  §  1.  The  stat.  24.  H.  8.  c.  5.  is  therefore  merely  declaratory  of  the  Com- 
mon law.  See  on  the  general  subject  Puffend.  2.  5.  §  10.  11.  12.  16.  17.  Excusable 
homicides  are  by  misadventure,  or  in  self-defence.  It  is  the  opinion  of  some  lawyers, 
that  the  Common  law  punished  these  with  death,  and  that  the  statute  of  Marlbridge, 
c.  26.  and  Gloucester,  c.  9.  first  took  away  this  by  giving  them  title  to  a  pardon,  as 
matter  of  right,  and  a  writ  of  restitution  of  their  goods.  See  2.  Inst.  14S.  315.  3. 
Inst.  55.  Bracton  L.  3.  c.  4.  §  2.  Fleta  L.  1.  c.  23.  ()  14.  15.  21.  E.  3.  23.  But  it  is 
believed  never  to  "have  been  capital.  1.  H.  P.  C.  425.  1  Hawk.  75.  Foster,  282. 
4.  Bl.  188.  It  seems  doubtful  also,  whether  at  Common  law,  the  party  forfeited  all 
his  chattels  in  this  case,  or  only  paid  a  weregild.  Foster,  ubi  supra,  doubts,  and 
thinks  it  of  no  consequence,  as  the  statute  of  Gloucester  entitles  the  party  to  Royal 
grace,  which  goes  as  well  to  forfeiture  as  life.  To  me  there  seems  no  reason  for  call- 
ing these  excusable  homicides,  and  the  killing  a  man  in  defence  of  property,  a  justi- 
fiable homicide.  The  latter  is  less  guiltless  than  misadventure  or  self-defence. 

Suicide  is  by  law  punishable  by  forfeiture  of  chattels.  This  bill  exempts  it  from 
forfeiture.  The  suicide  injures  the  State  less  than  he  who  leaves  it  with  his  effects. 
If  the  latter  then  be  not  punished,  the  former  should  not.  As  to  the  example,  we 
need  not  fear  its  influence.  Men  are  too  much  attached  to  life,  to  exhibit  frequent 
instances  of  depriving  themselves  of  it.  At  any  rate,  the  quasi-punishment  of  con- 
fiscation will  not  prevent  it.  For  if  one  be  found  who  can  calmly  determine  to  re- 
nounce life,  who  is  so  weary  of  his  existence  here,  as  rather  to  make  experiment  of 
what  is  beyond  the  grave,  can  we  suppose  him,  in  such  a  state  of  mind,  susceptible 
of  influence  from  the  losses  to  his  f  imily  from  confiscation  ?  That  men  in  general, 
too,  disapprove  of  this  severity,  is  apparent  from  the  constant  practice  of  juries  find- 
ing the  suicide  in  a  state  of  insanity  ;  because  they  have  no  other  way  of  saving  the 
forfeiture.  Let  it  then  be  done  away. 


APPENDIX.  153 

Whenever  sentence  of  death  shall  have  been  pronounced 
against  any  person  for  treason  or  murder,  execution  shall  be 
done  on  the  next  day  but  one  after  such  sentence,  unless  it  be 
Sunday,  and  then  on  the  Monday  following.* 

Whosoever  shall  be  guilty  of  Rape,f  Poly  gamy, |  or  Sodomy  § 

*  Beccaria.  (>  19.    25.  G.  2.  c.  37. 

f  13.  E.  I.e.  34.  Forcible  abduction  of  a  woman  having  substance,  is  felony  by  3. 
H.  7.  e.  2.  3.  Inst.  61.  4.  Bl.  208.  If  goods  be  taken,  it  will  be  felony  as  to  them, 
without  this  statute ;  and  as  to  the  abduction  of  the  woman,  quaere  if  not  better  to 
leave  that,  and  also  kidnapping,  4.  Bl.  219.  to  the  Common  law  remedies,  viz.,  fine, 
imprisonment,  and  pillory,  Raym.  474.  2  Show.  221.  Skin.  47.  Comb.  10.  the 
writs  of  Homine  replegiando,  Capias  in  Withernam,  Habeas  corpus,  and  the  action 
of  trespass  ?  Rape  was  felony  at  the  Common  law.  3.  Inst.  60.  but  see  2.  Inst. 
181.  further — for  its  definition  see  2.  Inst.  180.  Bracton,  L.  3.  c.  28.  §  1.  says  the 
punishment,  of  rape  is  "  amissio  membrorum,  ut  sit  membrum  pro  membro,  quia  virgo, 
cum  corrumpitur,  membrum  arnittit,  et  ideo  corruptor  puniatur  in  eo  in  quo  deliquit; 
oculos  igitur  amittat  propter  aspectum  decoris  quo  virgiiiem  concupivit ;  amittat  et 
testiculos  qui  calorem  stupri  induxerunt.  Olim  quid*Mii  corruptores  virginitatis  et  cas- 
titatis  suspendebantur  et  eorum  fantores,  <fec.  Modernis  tamen  temporibus  aliter  obser- 
vatur,"  Ac.  And  Fleta,  "  solet  justiciarius  pro  quolibet  mahemio  ad  amissionem  testicu- 
lorum  vel  oculorum  convictum  condemnare,  sed  non  sine  errore,  eo  quod  id  judicium 
nisi  in  corruptione  virginum  tantum  competebat ;  nam  pro  virginitatis  corruptione  so- 
lebantabscidi  et  mcrito  judicari,  ut  sic  pro  membro  quod  abstulit,  membrum  per  quod 
deliquit  amitteret,  viz.,  testiculos.  qui  calorem  stupri  induxerunt,"  <fcc.  Fleta,  L.  I.e.  40. 
$  4.  "  Gif  theow  man  theowne  to  nydhed  genyde,  gabte  mid  his  eowende :"  Si 
servus  servam  ad  stuprum  coegerit,  compenset  hoc  virga  sua  virili.  Si  quis  puellam," 
•fee.  LI.  Aelfridi.  25.  "  Hi  purgist  femme  per  forze  forfait  ad  les  membres.  LI.  Gul. 
conq.  19.  In  Dyer,  305,  a  man  was  indicted,  and  found  guilty  of  a  rape  on  a  girl  of 
seven  years  old.  The  court  "  doubted  of  the  rape  of  so  tender  a  girl ;  but  if  she  had 
been  nine  years  old,  it  would  have  been  otherwise."  14.  Eliz.  Therefore  the  statute 
18.  Eliz.  c.  6.  says,  "For  plain  declaration  of  law,  be  it  enacted,  that  if  any  person 
shall  unlawfully  and  carnally  know  and  abuse  any  woman  child,  under  the  age  of  ten 
years,  «fec.,  he  shall  suffer  as  a  felon,  without  allowance  of  clergy:'  Lord  Hale,  how- 
ever, 1.  P.  C.  630.  thinks  it  rape  independent  of  that  statute,  to  know  carnally,  a  girl 
under  twelve,  the  age  of  consent.  Yet  4.  Bl.  212.  seems  to  neglect  this  opinion  ;  and 
as  it  was  founded  on  the  words  of  3.  E.  1.  c.  13.  and  this  is  with  us  omitted,  the  offence 
of  carnally  knowing  a  girl  under  twelve,  or  ten  years  of  age,  will  not  be  distinguished 
from  that  of  any  other. 

\  1.  JMC.  1 .  c.  1 1.  Polygamy  was  not  penal  till  the  statute  1.  Jac.  The  law  contented 
itself  with  the  nullity  of  the  act.  4.  Bl.  163.  3.  Inst.  88. 

§25.  H.  8.  c.  6.  Buggery  is  twofold.  1.  With  mankind,  2.  with  beasts.  Buggery 
is  the  Genus,  of  which  Sodomy  and  Bestiality,  are  the  species.  1 2.  Co.  37.  says,  il  note 
that  Sodomy  is  with  mankind."  But  Finch's  L.  B.  3.  c.  24.  "  Sodomiary  is  a  carnal  cop- 
ulation  against  nature,  to  wit,  of  man  or  woman  in  the  same  sex,  or  of  either  of  them 
with  beasts."  12.  Co.  36.  says,  "  it  appears  by  the  ancient  authorities  of  the  law  that 


154  JEFFERSON'S   WORKS. 

with  man  or  woman,  shall  be  punished,  if  a  man,  by  castra- 
tion,* if  a  woman,  by  cutting  through  the  cartilage  of  her  nose 
a  hole  of  one  half  inch  in  diameter  at  the  least. 

But  no  one  shall  be  punished  for  Polygamy,  who  shall  have 
married  after  probable  information  of  the  death  of  his  or  her 
husband  or  wife,  or  after  his  or  her  husband  or  wife,  hath  ab- 
sented him  or  herself,  so  that  no  notice  of  his  or  her  being  alive 
hath  reached  such  person  for  seven  years  together,  or  hath  suf- 
fered the  punishments  before  prescribed  for  rape,  polygamy,  or 
sodomy. 

Whosoever  on  purpose,  and  of  malice  forethought,  shall 
maimf  another,  or  shall  disfigure  him,  by  cutting  out  or  dis- 
abling the  tongue,  slitting  or  cutting  off  a  nose,  lip,  or  ear,  brand- 
ing, or  otherwise,  shall  be  maimed,  or  disfigured  in  likej  sort : 

this  was  felony."  Yet  the  25.  H.  8.  declares  it  felony,  as  if  supposed  not  to  be  so. 
Britton,  c.  9.  says,  that  Sodomites  are  to  be  burnt.  F.  N.  B.  269.  b.  Fleta,  L.  1.  c.  37. 
says,  "  pecorantes  et  Sodomitae  in  terra  vivi  confodiantur."  The  Mirror  makes  it  trea- 
son. Bestiality  can  never  make  any  progress;  it  cannot  therefore  be  injurious  to  so- 
ciety in  any  great  degree,  which  is  the  true  measure  of  criminality  in  foro  civili,  and 
will  ever  be  properly  and  severely  punished,  by  universal  derision.  It  may,  therefore, 
be  omitted.  It  was  anciently  punished  with  death,  as  it  has  been  latterly.  LI.  Aelfrid, 
31.  and  25.  H.  8.  c.  6.  see  Beccaria.  §  31.  Montesq. 

*  Bracton,  Fleta,  Ac. 

•  f  22.  23.  Car.  2.  c.  1.  Maiming  was  felony  at  the  Common  law  Britton,  c.  25. 
"Mahemium  autem  dici  poteri,  aubi  aliquis  in  aliqua  parte  sui  corparis  laesionem 
acceperit,  per  quam  affectus  sit  inutilis  ad  puguandum:  ut  si  manus  amputetur,  vel 
pes,  oculus  privetur,  vel  scerda  de  osse  capitis  laveter,  vel  si  quis  dentes  praecisores 
amiserit,  vel  castratus  fuerit,  et  talis  pro  mahemiato  poterit  adjudicari."  Fleta  L. 
1.  c.  40.  "Et  volons  que  uul  maheme  ne  soit  tenus  forsque  de  membre  toilet  dount 
home  est  plus  feble  a  combatre,  sicome  del  oyl.  ou  de  la  mayn,  ou  del  pie,  ou  de  la 
tete  debruse,  ou  de  les  dentz  devant."  Britton,  c.  25.  For  further  definitions,  see 
Bracton,  L.  3.  c.  24.  §  3. 4.  Finch  L.  B.  3.  c.  1 2.  Co  L.  1 26.  a.  b.  288.  a.  3.  Bl.  121. 4.  Bl.  205. 
Stamf.  P.  C.  L.  1.  c.  41.  I  do  not  find  any  of  these  definitions  confine  the  offence  to  wilful 
and  malicious  perpetrations  of  it.  22. 23.  Car.  2.  c.  1.  called  the  Coventry  act,  has  the 
words  "  on  purpose  and  of  malice  forethought."  Nor  does  the  Common  law  prescribe 
the  same  punishment  for  disfiguring,  as  for  maiming. 

\  The  punishment  was  by  retaliation.  "  Et  come  ascun  appele  serra  de  tele  lei- 
onie  atteint  et  attende  jugement,  si  soit  le  judgment  tiel  que  il  perde  autriel  membre 
come  il  avera  toilet  al  pleintyfe.  Et  sy  la  pleyute  soi  faite  de  femme  que  avera  toilet 
a  home  sea  membres,  en  tiel  cas  perdra  la  femme  la  une  meyu  par  jugement,  come  le 
membre  dount  ele  axera  trespasse."  Brittou,  c.  25.  Fleta,  B.  1.  c.  40.  LI.  Aelfr. 
19.  40. 


APPENDIX.  155 

or  if  that  cannot  be,  for  want  of  the  same  part,  then  as  nearly 
as  may  be,  in  some  other  part  of  at  least  equal  value  and  esti- 
mation, in  the  opinion  of  a  jury,  and  moreover,  shall  forfeit  one 
half  of  his  lands  and  goods  to  the  sufferer. 

Whosoever  shall  counterfeit*  any  coin,  current  by  law  within 
this  Commonwealth,  or  any  paper  bills  issued  in  the  nature  of 
money,  or  of  certificates  of  loan  on  the  credit  of  this  Common- 
wealth, or  of  all  or  any  of  the  United  States  of  America,  or  any 
Inspectors'  notes  for  tobacco,  or  shall  pass  any  such  counterfeit 
coin,  paper,  bills,  or  notes,  knowing  them  to  be  counterfeit ;  or, 
for  the  sake  of  lucre,  shall  diminish,f  case,  or  wash  any  such  coin, 
shall  be  condemned  to  hard  labor  six  years  in  the  public  works, 
and  shall  forfeit  all  his  lands  and  goods  to  the  Commonwealth. 

^Whosoever  committeth  Arson,  shall  be  condemned  to  hard 
labor  five  years  in  the  public  works,  and  shall  make  good  the  loss 
of  the  sufferers  threefold. § 

*  25.  E.  3.  st.  5.  c.  2.  5.  El.  c.  11. 18.  El.  c.  1.  8.  9.  W.  3.  c.  26. 15. 16.  G.  2.  c.  28.  7.  Ann. 
c.  25.  By  the  laws  of  Aethelstan  and  Canute,  this  was  punished  by  cutting  off  the 
hand.  "  Gif  se  mynetere  ful  wurthe  slea  man  tha  hand  of,  the  he  that  ful  mid  worthe 
and  sette  uppon  tha  mynet  smiththan."  In  English  characters  and  words  "  if  the 
minter  foul  [criminal]  wert,  slay  the  hand  off,  that  he  the  foul  [crime]  with  wrought, 
and  set  upon  the  mint-smithery."  LI.  Arthelst.  14.  "  Et  si  quis  praeter  hanc,  falsam 
fecerit,  perdat  mauuin  quacum  falsam^confecit."  LI.  Cnuti.  8.  It  had  been  death  by 
the  LI.  Aethelredi  sub  fine.  By  thos--e  of  H.  1.  "si  quis  cum  falso  denario  inventus* 
fuerit — fiat  justitia  mea,  saltern  de  dextro  pugno  et  de  testiculis."  Anno  1108.  Op- 
erae  pretium  vero  est  audire  quam  severus  rex  fuerit  in  pravos.  Monetarios  enim 
fere  omnes  totius  Angliae  fecit  ementulari,  et  manus  dcxtras  abscindi,  quia  monetam 
furtive  corruperarit.  Wilkins  ib.  et  anno  1125.  When  the  Common  law  became  set- 
tled, it  appears  to  have  been  punishable  by  death.  "Est  aluid  genus  criminis  quod 
sub  nomine  falsi  continetur,  et  tangit  coronam  domini  regis,  et  ultimum  inducit  sup- 
plicium,  sicut  de  illis  qui  falsam  fabricant  monetam,  et  qui  de  re  non  reproba,  faciuut 
reprobam;  eicut  sunt  retonsores  denariorum.  Bract.  L.  3.  c.  §  2.  Fleta,  L.  1.  c.  22. 
§  4.  Lord  Hale  thinks  it  was  deemed  petty  treason  at  common  law.  1.  H.  P.  C.  220. 
224.  The  bringing  in  false  money  with  intent  to  merchandize,  and  make  payment  of 
it,  is  treason,  by  25.  E.  3.  But  the  best  proof  of  the  intention,  is  the  act  of  passing 
it,  ami  why  not  leave  room  for  repentance  here,  as  in  other  cases  of  felonies  intended  ? 
l.H.  P.  C.  229. 

f  Clipping,  filing,  rounding,  impairing,  scaling,  lightening,  (the  words  in  the  statutes) 
are  included  in  "  diminishing ;"  gilding,  in  the  word  "  casing ;"  coloring  in  the  word 
" washing ;"  and  falsifying,  or  making,  is  "counterfeiting." 

\  43.  L.  c.  13.  confined  to  four  counties.   22.  23.  Car.  2.  c.  7.  9.  G.  1.  c.  22.  9.  G.  3.  c.  29. 

§  Arson  was  a  felony  at  Common  law — 3.  Inst.  66  ;  punished  by  a  fine,  LI.  Aethelst.  6. 


156  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

If  any  person  shall,  within  this  Commonwealth,  or  being  a  citi- 
zen thereof,  shall  without  the  same,  wilfully  destroy,*  or  runf 
away  with  any  sea-vessel,  or  goods  laden  on  board  thereof,  or 
plunder  or  pilfer  any  wreck,  he  shall  be  condemned  to  hard  labor 
five  years  in  the  public  works,  and  shall  make  good  the  loss  of 
the  sufferers  threefold. 

Whosoever  committeth  Robbery ,J  shall  be  condemned  to  hard 
labor  four  years  in  the  public  works,  and  shall  make  double  repa- 
ration to  the  persons  injured. 

Whatsoever  act,  if  committed  on  any  Mansion  house,  would  be 
deemed  Burglary,<§>  shall  be  Burglary,  if  committed  on  any  other 

But  LI.  Cnuti,  61.  make  it  a  "scelus  inexpiable."  ''  Hus  brec  and  bsernet  and 
open  thyfth  seberemorth  and  hlaford  swice  aefter  woruld  laga  is  botleds."  Word  for 
word,  "house  break  and  burnt,  and  open  theft,  and  manifest  murther,  and  lord- 
treachery,  afterworld's  law  is  bootless."  Bracton  says  it  was  punished  by  death.  "  Si 
quis  turbida  seditione  inceudium  fecerit  nequiter  et  in  felonia,  vel  ob  inimicitias,  vel 
praedandi  causa,  capitali  puniatur  poena  vel  senteutia."  Bract.  L.  3.  27.  He  defines 
it  as  commissible  by  burning  "  aedes  zilienas.' "  Ib.  Britton,  c.  9.  "  Ausi  soit  enquis 
deceux  que  felonisement  en  temps  de  pees  eient  autre  blees  ou  autre  mesons  ars,  et  ceux 
que  serrount  de  ceo  atteyntz.  soient  ars  issint  que  eux  soient  punys  par  mesme  cele 
chose  dount  ilz  pecherent."  Fleta,  L.  1.  c.  37.  is  a  copy  of  Bracton.  The  Mirror  c.  1. 
§  8.  says,  "  Ardours  sont  que  ardent  citie,  ville,  maison  home,  maison  beast,  oxi  auters 
chatelx,  de  lour  felonie  en  temps  de  pace  pour  haine  ou  vengeance."  Again,  c.  2.  § 
11.  pointing  out  the  words  of  the  appellor  "jeo  dise  que  Sebright,  <tc.,  entiel  meason 
•ou  biens  mist  de  feu."  Coke  3.  Inst.  67.  says,  "  the  ancient  authors  extended  this  fel- 
ony further  than  houses,  viz.,  to  sacks  of  corn,  waynes  or  carts  of  coal,  wood  or  other 
goods."  He  denies  it  as  commissible,  not  only  on  the  inset  houses,  parcel  of  the  man- 
sion house,  but  the  outset  also,  as  barn,  stable,  cowhouse,  sheep  house,  dairy  house, 
mill  house,  and  the  like,  parcel  of  the  mansion  house.  But  "  burning  of  a  barn,  being 
no  parcel  of  a  mansion  house,  is  no  felony,"  unless  there  be  corn  or  hay  within  it.  Ib. 
The  22.  23.  Car.  2.  and  9.  G.  1.  are  the  principal  statutes  against  arson.  They  extend 
the  offence  beyond  the  Common  law. 

*  1.  Ann.  st.  2.  c.  9.     12.  Ann.  c.  18.    4.  G.I.  c.  12.     26.  G.  2.  c.  19. 

f  11.12.  W.  3.  c.  7. 

}  Robbery  was  a  felony  at  Common  law.  3  Inst.  68.  "  Scelus  inexpiable,"  by  the 
LI.  Cnuti.  61.  [See  before  in  Arson.]  It  was  punished  with  death.  Britt.  c.  15> 
"de  robbours  et  de  larouns  et  de  semblables  mesfesours,  soit  ausi  ententivemeut  en- 
qnis — et  tauntost  soient  ceux  robbours  juges  a  la  mort."  Fleta  says,  "si  quis  cou- 
victus  ftierit  de  bouis  viri  robbatis  vel  asportatis  ad  sectam  regis  judicium  capitale 
eubibit.  L.  1.  c.  39.  See  also  Bract.  L.  3.  c.  32.  §  1. 

§  Burglary  was  felony  at  the  Common  law.  3  Inst.  63.  It  was  not  distinguished 
by  ancient  authors,  except  the  Mirror,  from  simple  House-breaking,  ib.  65.  Burglary 
and  House-breaking  were  called  "  Hamsockne  diximus  etiam  de  pad"  violatioue  et  de 


APPENDIX.  157 

house  ;  and  he,  who  is  guilty  of  Burglary,  shall  be  condemned  to 
hard  labor  four  years  in  the  public  works,  and  shall  make  double 
reparation  to  the  persons  injured. 

Whatsoever  act,  if  committed  in  the  night  time,  shall  consti- 
tute the  crime  of  Burglary,  shall,  if  committed  in  the  day,  be 
deemed  House-breaking ;  *  and  whosoever  is  guilty  thereof,  shall 
be  condemned  to  hard  labor  three  years  in  the  public  works,  and 
shall  make  reparation  to  the  persons  injured. 

Whosoever  shall  be   guilty  of  Horse-stealing,f  shall  be  con- 

immunittitibus  domus,  si  quis  hoc  in  posterum  fecerit  ut  perdat  omue  quod  habet,  et 
sit  in  regis  arbitrio  utrum  vitam  habeat.  Eac  we  quoedon  be  muudbryce  and  be  ham 
socnum,  sethe  hit  ofer  this  do  tbset  he  dolie  ealles  thaes  the  age,  and  sy  on  Cyninges 
dome  hwiether  he  life  age  ;  and  we  quoth  of  mound-breach,  and  of  home-seeking 
he  who  it  after  this  do,  that  he  dole  all  that  he  owe  [owns],  and  is  in  king's  doom 
whether  he  life  owes  [owns.]  LI.  Eadmundi.  c.  6.  and  see  LI.  Cuuti.  61.  "  hus  brec," 
in  notes  on  Arson,  ante.  A  Burglar  was  also  called  a  Burgessor.  "Et  soit  enquis 
de  Burgessours  et  sunt  tenus  Burgessours  trestous  ceux  que >  felonisement  en  temps  de 
pees  debrusont  esglises  ou  auter  mesons,  ou  murs  ou  portes  de  nos  cytes,  ou  de  nos 
Burghes."  Britt.  c.  10.  '•  Burglaria  est  nocturna  diruptio  habitaculi  alicujiis,  vel  eccle- 
siae,  etiam  murorum,  partarumve  civitatis  nut  burgi,  ad  feloniam  aliquam  perpe* 
trandam.  Noctanter  dico,  receutiores  secutus ;  veteres  enim  hoc  uon  adjungunt. 
Spelm.  gloss,  verb.  Burglaria.  It  was  punished  with  death.  Ib.  citn.  from  the  office 
of  a  Coroner.  It  may  be  committed  in  the  outset  houses,  as  well  as  inset.  3  List. 
65.  though  not  under  the  same  roof  or  contiguous,  provided  they  be  within  the  Cur- 
tilage or  Homestall.  4  Bl.  225.  As  by  the  Common  law,  all  felonies  were  clergiable, 
the  stat.  23  H.  8.  c.  1.  5.  E.  6.  c.  9.  and  18  El.  c.  7.  first  distinguished  them,  by  tak-  ' 
ing  the  clerical  privilege  of  impunity  from  the  principals,  and  3.  4.  \V.  M.  c.  9. 
from  accessories  before  the  fact.  No  statute  defines  what  Burglary  is.  The  12  Ann. 
c.  7.  decides  the  doubt  whether,  where  breaking  is  subsequent  to  entry,  it  is  Burglary. 
Bacon's  Elements  had  affirmed,  and  1.  H.  P.  C.  j>54.  had  deuied  it.  Our  bill  must  dis- 
tinguish them  by  different  degrees  of  punishment. 

*  At  the  Common  law,  the  offence  of  Housebreaking  was  not  distinguished  from 
Burglary,  and  neither  of  them  from  any  other  larceny.  The  statutes  at  first  took 
away  clergy  from  Burglary,  which  made  a  leading  distinction  between  the  two  of- 
fences. Later  statutes,  however,  have  taken  clergy  from  so  many  cases  of  House- 
breaking,  as  nearly  to  bring  the  offences  together  again.  These  are  23  H.  8.  c.  1.  1. 
E.  6.  c.  12.  5  and  6  E.  6.  c.  9.  3  and  4  W.  M.  c.  9.  39  El.  c.  15.  10  and  11  W.  3  c.  23. 
12  Ann.  c.  7.  See  Barr.  428.  4  Bl.  240.  The  circumstances  which  in  these  statutes  char- 
acterize the  offence,  seem  to  have  been  occasional  and  unsystematical.  The  houses 
on  which  Burglary  may  be  committed,  and  the  circumstances  which  constitute  that 
crime  being  ascertained,  it  will  be  better  to  define  Housebreaking  by  the  same  sub- 
jects and  circumstances,  and  let  the  crimes  be  distinguished  only  by  the  hour  at 
•which  they  are  committed,  and  the  degree  of  punishment. 

f  The  offence  of  Horse-stealing  seems  properly  distinguishable  from  other  larcenies. 


158  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

demned  to  hard  labor  three  years  in  the  public  works,  and  shall 
make  reparation  to  the  person  injured. 

Grand  Larceny*  shall  be  where  the  goods  stolen  are  of  the 
value  of  five  dollars ;  and  whosoever  shall  be  guilty  thereof,  shall 
be  forthwith  put  in  the  pillory  for  one  half  hour,  shall  be  con- 
demned to  hard  laborf  two  years  in  the  public  works,  and  shall 
make  reparation  to  the  person  injured. 

here,  where  these  animals  generally  run  at  large,  the  temptation  being  so  great  and 
frequent,  and  the  facility  of  commission  so  remarkable.  See  1  E.  6.  c.  12.  23  E.  6.  c. 
33.  31  El.  c.  12. 

*  The  distinction  between  grand  and  petty  larceny,  is  very  ancient.  At  first  8d. 
was  the  sum  which  constituted  grand  larceny.  LI.  Aethelst.  c.  1.  "Ne  parcatur  ulli 
furi,  qui  fur-turn  manutenens  captus  sit,  supra  12.  annos  nato,  et  supra  8.  denarioa." 
Afterwards,  in  the  same  king's  reign  it  was  raised  to  12d.  "non  parcatur  alicui  furi 
ultra  12  denarois,  et  ultra  12  annos  nato — ut  occidemus  ilium  et  capiamus  omnequod 
possidet,  et  imprimis  sumamus  rei  furto  ablatae  pretium  ab  haerede,  ac  dividatur 
postea  reliquum  in  duas  partes,  una  pars  uxori,  si  munda,  et  facinoris  conscia  nou  sit; 
et  residuum  in  duo,  dimidium  capiat  rex,  dimidium  societas."  LI.  Aethelst.  Wilkins, 
p.  65. 

•)•  LI.  Inae.  c.  7.  "  Si  quis  furetur  ita  ut  uxor  ejus  et  infans  ipsius  nesciaut,  solvat  60. 
solidos  poeuae  loco.  Si  autem  furetur  testantibus  omnibus  haeredibus  suis,  abeant 
omnes  in  servitutem."  Ina  was  king  of  the  West-Saxons,  and  began  to  reign  A.  C.  688. 
After  the  union  of  the  Heptarchy,  i.  e.  temp.  Aethelst.  inter  924  and  940,  we  find  it 
punishable  with  death  as  above.  So  it  was  inter  1017  and  1035,  i.  e.  temp.  Cuuti.  LL 
Cnuti  61.  cited  in  notes  on  Arson.  In  the  time  of  William  the  conqueror,  it  seems  to 
have  been  made  punishable  by  fine  only.  LI.  Gul.  conq.  apud  Wilk.  p.  218,  220.  This 
commutation,  however,  was  taken  away  by  LI.  H.  1.  anno  1108.  "Si  quis  in  furto 
vel  latrocinio  cleprehensus  fuisset,  suspenderetur ;  sublata  wirgildorum,  id  est,  pecu- 
niarae  redemptionis  lege."  Larceny  is  the  felonious  taking  and  carrying  away  of  the 
personal  goods  of  another.  1.  As  to  the  taking,  the  3.  4.  W.  M.  c.  9  §  5.  is  not  addi- 
tional to  the  Common  law,  but  declaratory  of  it ;  because  where  only  the  care  or 
use,  and  not  the  possession,  of  things  is  delivered,  to  take  them  was  larceny  at  the 
Common  law.  The  33.  H.  6.  c.  1  and  21  H.  8.  c.  7.  indeed,  have  added  to  the  Com- 
mon law,  by  making  it  larceny  in  a  servant  to  convert  things  of  his  master's.  But 
quaere,  if  they  should  be  imitated  more  than  as  to  other  breaches  of  trust  in  general. 
2.  As  to  the  subject  of  larceny,  4  G.  2.  c.  32.  6  G.  3.  c.  36.  48.  43.  El.  c.  7.  15.  Car.  2. 
c.  2.  23.  G.  2.  c.  26.  31.  G.  2.  c.  35.  9.  G.  3.  c.  41.  25.  G.  2.  c.  10.  have  extended  larceny 
to  things  of  various  sorts  either  real,  or  fixed  to  the  reality.  But  the  enumeration  is 
unsystematical,  and  in  this  country,  where  the  produce  of  the  earth  is  so  spontaneous, 
as  to  have  rendered  things  of  this  kind  scarcely  a  breach  of  civility  or  good  manners, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  quaere,  if  it  would  not  too  much  enlarge  the  field  of  Crim- 
inal law?  The  same  may  be  questioned  of  9  G.  1.  c.  22.  13  Car.  2.  c.  10.  10  G.  2.  c. 
32.  5  G.  3.  c.  14.  22  and  23  Car.  2.  c.  25.  37  E.  3.  c.  19.  making  it  felony  to  steal  ani- 
mals fera?  naturae. 


APPENDIX.  159 

Petty  Larceny  shall  be,  where  the  goods  stolen  are  of  less  value 
than  five  dollars ;  and  whosoever  shall  be  guilty  thereof,  shall  be 
forthwith  put  in  the  pillory  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  shall  be  con- 
demned to  hard  labor  one  year  in  the  public  works,  and  shall 
make  reparation  to  the  person  injured.  • 

Robbery*  or  larceny  of  bonds,  bills  obligatory,  bills  of  ex- 
change, or  promissory  notes  for  the  payment  of  money  or  tobacco, 
lottery  tickets,  paper  bills  issued  in  the  nature  of  money,  or  of 
certificates  of  loan  on  the  credit  of  this  Commonwealth,  or  of  all 
or  any  of  the  United  States  of  Amerida,  or  Inspectors'  notes  for 
tobacco,  shall  be  punished  in  the  same  manner  as  robbery  or 
larceny  of  the  money  or  tobacco  due  on,  or  represented  by  such 
papers. 

Buyers!  and  receivers  of  goods  taken  by  way  of  robbery  or 
larceny,  knowing  them  to  have  been  so  taken,  shall  be  deemed 
accessaries  to  such  robbery  or  larceny  after  the  fact. 

Prison-breakers;];,  also,  shall  be  deemed  accessaries  after  the  fact, 
to  traitors  or  felons  whom  they  enlarge  from  prison. $ 

*  2  G.  2.  e.  25  §  3.  7  G.  3.  c.  50. 

f  3.  4.  W.  M.  c.  9.  §  4.  5  Ann.  c.  31.  §  5.  4  G.  1.  c.  11.  §  1. 

j  1  E.  2. 

§  Breach  of  prison  at  the  Common  law  was  capital,  without  regard  to  the  crime 
for  which  the  party  was  committed.  "  Cum  pro  criminis  qualitate  in  carcerem  re- 
cepti  fuerint,  conspiraverint  (ut  ruptis  vinculis  aut  fracto  carcere)  evaduut,  amplius 
(quam  causa  pro  qua  recepti  aunt  exposeit)  puniendi  sunt,  videlicet  ultimo  sup- 
plied, quamvis  ex  eo  crimine  iunocentes  inveniantur,  propter  quod  induct!  stint  in 
carcerem  et  imparcati.  Bracton  L.  3.  c.  9.  §  4.  Britt.  c.  11.  Fleta,  L.  1.  c.  26.  §  4. 
Yet  in  the  Y.  B.  Hill.  1.  H.  7.  2.  Hussey  says,  that  by  the  opinion  of  Billing  and 
Choke,  and  all  the  justices,  it  was  a  felony  in  strangers  only,  but  not  in  the  prisoner 
himself.  S.  C.  Fitz.  Abr.  Coron.  48.  They  are  principal  felons,  not  accessaries,  ib. 
Whether  it  was  felony  in  the  prisoner  at  Common  law,  is  doubted.  Stain.  P.  C.  30.  b 
The  Mirror  c.  5.  §  1,  says,  '  abu.~ion  est  a  tener  escape  de  prisoner,  ou  de  bruserie 
del  gaole  pur  peche  mortell,  car  eel  usage  nest  garrant  per  nul  ley,  ne  in  mil  part  est 
use  forsque  in  cest  realme,  et  en  France,  eius  [rnais]  e^t  leu  garrantie  de  ceo  faire 
per  la  ley  de  nature."  2  Inst.  589.  The  stat.  1.  E.  2.  de  fraugentibus  prisonam,  re 
strained  the  judgment  of  life  and  limb  for  prison  breaking,  to  cases  where  the 
offence  of  the  prisoner  required  such  judgment. 

It  is  not  only  vain,  but  wicked,  in  a  legislator  to  frame  laws  in  opposition  to  the 
laws  of  nature,  and  to  arm  them  with  tlie  terrors  of  death.  This  is  truly  creating 
crimes  in  order  to  punish  them.  The  law  of  nature  impels  every  one  to  escape  from 
confinement ;  it  should  not,  therefore,  be  subjected  to  punishment.  Let  the  legislator 


160  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

All  attempts  to  delude  the  people,  or  to  abuse  their  under- 
standing by  exercise  of  the  pretended  arts  of  witchcraft,  conjur- 
ation, enchantment,  or  sorcery,  or  by  pretended  prophecies,  shal 
be  punished  by  ducking  and  whipping,  at  the  discretion  of  a 
jury,  not  exceeding  fifteen  stripes.* 

If  the  principal  offenders  be  fled,f  or  secreted  from  justice,  in 
any  case  not  touching  life  or  member,  the  accessaries  may,  not- 
withstanding, be  prosecuted  as  if  their  principal  were  convicted. J 

If  any  offender  stand  mute  of  obstinacy,4^  or  challenge  peremp- 
torily more  of  the  jurors  than  by  law  he  may,  being  first  warned 
of  the  consequence  thereof,  the  court  shall  proceed  as  if  he  had 
confessed  the  charge. || 

restrain  his  criminal  by  walls,  not  by  parcbment.  As  to  strangers  breaking  prison  to 
enlarge  an  offender,  tbey  should,  and  may  be  fairly  considered  as  accessaries  aftei 
the  fact.  This  bill  says  nothing  of  the  prisoner  releasing  himself  by  breacli  of  jail 
he  will  have  the  benefit  of  the  first  section  of  the  bill,  which  repeals  the  judgment 
of  life  and  death  at  the  common  law. 

*  Gif  wiccan  owwe  wigleras  nansworan,  owwe  morthwyrhtan  owwe  fule  afylede 
aebere  horcwenan  ahwhar  on  lande  wurthan  agytene,  thonue  fyrsie  man  of  earde 
and  clainsie  tha  theode,  owwe  on  earde  forfare  hi  mid  ealle,  butou  hi  geswican  and 
the  deeper  gebetan  :  if  witches,  or  weirds,  man-swearers,  or  murther-wroughters,  or 
foul,  defiled,  open  whore-queens,  aywhere  in  the  land  were  gotten,  then  force  them 
off  earth,  and  cleanse  the  nation,  or  in  earth  forth- fare  them  withal,  buton  they  be- 
seech, and  deeply  better.  LI.  Ed.  et  Guthr.  c.  11.  "  Sagae,  mulieres  barbarn,  facti- 
tantes  sacrificia,  suit  pestiferi,  si  cui  mortem  intuleriut,  neque  id  inficiari  poterint, 
capitis  poena  esto."  LI.  Aethelst.  c.  6.  apud  Lambard.  LI.  Aelfr.  30.  LI.  Cnuti.  c. 4. 
"Mesme  eel  jugement  (d'etrears)  eyent  sorcers,  et  sorceresses,  <fcc.  ut  supra,  Fleta  ut 
et  ubi  supra.  3.  Inst.  44.  Trial  of  witches  before  Hale  in  1664.  The  statutes  33  H.  S. 
c.  8.  5.  El.  c.  1 6  and  1.  Jac.  1.  c.  1 2.  seem  to  be  only  in  confirmation  of  the  Common  law. 
9  G.  2.  c.  25.  punishes  them  with  pillory,  and  a  year's  imprisonment.  3  E.  6.  c.  15. 
5  El.  c.  15.  punish  fond,  fantastical  and  false  prophecies,  by  fine  and  imprisonment. 

f  1  Ann.  c.  9.  §  2. 

\  As  every  treason  includes  within  it  a  misprision  of  treason,  so  every  felony  in- 
cludes a  misprision,  or  misdemeanor.  1  Hale  P.  C.  652.  708.  "  Licet  fuerit  felonia, 
tamen  in  eo  continetur  misprisio."  2  R.  3  10.  Both  principal  and  accessary,  there- 
fore, may  be  proceeded  against  in  any  case,  either  for  felony  or  misprision,  at  the 
Commou  law.  Capital  cases  not  being  mentioned  here,  accessaries  to  theui  will  of 
course  be  triable  for  misprisions,  if  the  offender  flies. 

§  E.  1.  c.  12. 

||  Whether  the  judgment  of  penance  lay  at  Common  law.  See  2  Inst.  178.  2  H. 
P.  C.  321.  4  BL  322.  It  was  given  on  standing  mute  ;  but  on  challenging  more  than 
the  legal  number,  whether  that  sentence,  or  sentence  of  death  is  to  be  given,  seems 


APPENDIX.  161 

Pardon  and  Privilege  of  clergy,  shall  henceforth  be  abolished, 
that  none  may  be  induced  to  injure  through  hope  of  impunity. 
But  if  the  verdict  be  against  the  defendant,  and  the  court  before 
whom  the  offence  is  heard  and  determined,  shall  doubt  that  it 
may  be  untrue  for  defect  of  testimony,  or  other  cause,  they  may 
direct  a  new  trial  to  be  had.* 

doubtful.  2  II.  P.  C.  31G.  Quaere,  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  consider  the 
supernumerary  challenge  as  merely  void,  and  to  proceed  in  the  trial  ?  Quaere  too, 
in  case  of  silence  ? 

*  "  Cum  Clericus  sic  de  crimine  couvictus  degradetur  non  sequitur  alia  poena  pro 
uno  delicto,  vel  pluribus  ante  degradationcin  perpetratis.  Satis  enim  sufficit  ei  pro 
poena  degradatio,  quae  est  magna  capitis  diminutio,  nisi  forte  convictus  fuerit  de 
apostatia,  quia  hinc  primo  degradetur,  et  postea  per  mauum  laicalem  comburetur, 
secundum  quod  accidit  in  concilio  Oxoni  celebrato  a  bouae  memoriae  S.  Cautuanen. 
Archiepiscopo  de  quodani  diacono,  qui  so  apostatavit  pro  quadam  Judaea  ;  qui  cum 
esset  per  epi^copum  degradalus,  statim  fuit  igni  traditus  per  manum  laicalem." 
Bract.  L.  3.  c.  9.  §  2.  "  Et  mesme  eel  jugement  (i.  e.  qui  ils  soient  ars)  eyent  sorcers 
et  sorceresses,  et  sodomites  et  mescreauntz  apertemeut  atteyntz.  Britt.  c.  9.  "  Chris- 
tian! autem  Apostatae,  sortilegii,  et  hujusmodi  dotractari  debent  et  comburi."  Fleta, 
L.  1.  c.  37.  §  2.  see  3.  Inst.  39.  12.  Rep.  92.  1.  H.  P.  C.  393.  The  extent  of  the  cler- 
ical privilege  at  the  Common  law.  1.  As  to  the  crimes,  seems  very  obscure  and  un- 
certain. It.  extended  to  no  case  where  the  judgment  was  not  of  life,  or  limb.  Note 
in  2.  H.  P.  C.  32G.  This  therefore  excluded  it  in  trespass,  petty  larceny,  or  killing 
se  defendendo.  In  high  treason  against  the  person  of  the  King,  it  seems  not  to  have 
been  allowed.  Note  1.  H.  P.  C.  185.  Treasons,  therefore,  not  against  the  King's 
person  immediately,  petty  treasons  and  felonies,  seem  to  have  been  the  cases  where 
it  was  allowed;  and  even  of  those,  not  for  insidiatio variurn,  depopulatio  agrorum, 
or  combustio  domorum.  The  statute  de  Clero,  25.  E.  3.  st.  3.  c.  4.  settled  the  law  on 
this  head.  2.  As  to  the  persons,  it  extended  to  all  clerks,  always,  and  toties  quo- 
ties.  2.  H.  P.  C.  374.  To  nuns  also.  Fitz.  Abr.  Corone.  461.  22.  E.  3.  The  clerical 
habit  and  tonsure  were  considered  as  evidence  of  the  person  being  clerical.  26. 
Assiz.  19.  20.  E.  2.  Fitz.  Corone.  233.  By  the  9.  E.  4.  28.  b.  34.  H.  6.  49  a.  b.  simple 
reading  became  the  evidence.  This  extended  impunity  to  a  great  number  of  laymen, 
and  toties  quoties.  The  stat.  4.  H.  7.  c.  13.  directed  that  real  clerks  should,  upon  a 
second  arraignment,  produce  their  order?,  and  all  others  to  be  burnt  in  the  hand 
with  M.  or  T.  on  the  first  allowance  of  clergy,  and  not  to  be  admitted  to  it  a  second 
time.  A  heretic,  Jew,  or  Turk  (as  being  incapable  of  orders)  could  not  have  clergy. 
11.  Co.  Rep.  29  b.  But  a  Greek,  or  other  alien,  reading  in  a  book  of  his  own  coun- 
try, might.  Bro.  Clergie.  20.  So  a  blind  man,  if  he  could  speak  Latin.  Ib.  21.  qu. 
11.  Rep.  29.  b.  The  orders  entitling  the  party,  were  bishops,  priests,  deacons  and 
subdeacons,  the  inferior  being  reckoned  Clerici  in  minoribus.  2.  H.  P.  C.  373.  Qutere, 
however,  if  this  distinction  is  not  founded  on  the  stat.  23.  H.  8.  c.  1.  25.  H.  8.  c.  32. 
By  merely  dropping  all  the  statutes,  it  should  seem  that  none  but  clerks  would  be 
entitled  to  this  privilege,  and  that  they  would,  toties  quoties. 
VOL.  I.  11 


162  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

No  attainder  shall  work  corruption  of  blood  in  any  case. 

In  all  cases  of  forfeiture,  the  widow's  dower  shall  be  saved  to 
her,  during  her  title  thereto  ;  after  which  it  shall  be  disposed  of 
as  if  no  such  saving  had  been. 

The  aid  of  Counsel,*  and  examination  of  their  witnesses  on 
oath,  shall  be  allowed  to  defendants  in  criminal  prosecutions. 

Slaves  guilty  of  any  offencef  punishable  in  others  by  labor  in 
the  public  works,  shall  be  transported  to  such  parts  in  the  West 
Indies,  South  America,  or  Africa,  as  the  Governor  shall  direct, 
there  to  be  continued  in  slavery. 


[NOTE  P.] 

Notes  on  the  Establishment  of  a  Money  Unit,  and  of  a  Coinage 
for  the  United  States. 

In  fixing  the  Unit  of  Money,  these  circumstances  are  of  prin- 
cipal importance. 

I.  That  it  be  of  convenient  size  to  be  applied  as  a  measure  to 
the  common  money  transactions  of  life. 

II.  That  its  parts  and  multiples  be  in  an  easy  proportion  to 
each  other,  so  as  to  facilitate  the  money  arithmetic. 

III.  That  the  Unit  and  its  parts,  or  divisions,  be  so  nearly  of 
the  value  of  some  of  the  known  corns,  as  that  they  may  be  of  easy 
adoption  for  the  people. 

The  Spanish  Dollar  seems  to  fulfil  all  these  conditions. 

I.  Taking  into  our  view  all  money  transactions,  great  and 
small,  I  question  if  a  common  measure  of  more  convenient  size 
than  the  Dollar  could  be  proposed.  The  value  of  100,  1000, 
10,000  dollars  is  well  estimated  by  the  mind  ;  so  is  that  of  the 
tenth  or  the  hundredth  of  a  dollar.  Few  transactions  are  above 

*  1.  Ann.  c.  9. 

f  Manslaughter,  counterfeiting,  arson,  aaportalion  of  vessels,  robbery,  burglary, 
house-breaking,  horse-stealing,  larceny. 


APPENDIX.  163 

or  below  these  limits.  The  expediency  of  attending  to  the  size 
of  the  money  Unit  will  be  evident,  to  any  one  who  will  consider 
how  inconvenient  it  would  be  to  a  manufacturer  or  merchant,  if, 
instead  of  the  yard  for  measuring  cloth,  either  the  inch  or  the 
mile  had  been  made  the  Unit  of  Measure. 

II.  The  most  easy  ratio  of  multiplication  and  division,  is  that 
by  ten.  Every  one  knows  the  facility  of  Decimal  Arithmetic. 
Every  one  remembers,  that,  when  learning  Money- Arithmetic,  he 
used  to  be  puzzled  with  adding  the  farthings,  taking  out  the  fours 
and  carrying  them  on  ;  adding  the  pence,  taking  out  the  twelves 
and  carrying  them  on ;  adding  the  shillings,  taking  out  the  twen- 
ties and  carrying  them  on ;  but  when  he  came  to  the  pounds, 
where  he  had  only  tens  to  carry  forward,  it  was  easy  and  free 
from  error.  The  bulk  of  mankind  are  school-boys  through  life. 
These  little  perplexities  are  always  great  to  them.  And  even 
mathematical  heads  feel  the  relief  of  an  easier,  substituted  for  a 
more  difficult  process.  Foreigners,  too,  who  trade  and  travel 
among  us,  will  find  a  great  facility  in  understanding  our  coins 
and  accounts  from  this  ratio  of  subdivision.  Those  who  have 
had  occasion  to  convert  the  livres,  sols,  and  deniers  of  the  French  ; 
the  gilders,  stivers,  and  frenings  of  the  Dutch  ;  the  pounds,  shil- 
lings, pence,  and  farthings  of  these  several  States,  into  each  other, 
can  judge  how  much  they  would  have  been  aided,  had  their 
several  subdivisions  been  in  a  decimal  ratio.  Certainly,  in  all 
cases,  where  we  are  free  to  choose  between  easy  and  difficult 
modes  of  operation,  it  is  most  rational  to  choose  the  easy.  The 
Financier,  therefore,  in  his  report,  well  proposes  that  our  Coins 
should  be  in  decimal  proportions  to  one  another.  If  we  adopt 
the  Dollar  for  our  Unit,  we  should  strike  four  coins,  one  of  gold, 
two  of  silver,  and  one  of  copper,  viz-.  : 

1.  A  golden  piece,  equal  in  value  to  ten  dollars  : 

2.  The  Unit  or  Dollar  itself,  of  silver : 

3.  The  tenth  of  a  Dollar,  of  silver  also : 

4.  The  hundredth  of  a  Dollar,  of  copper. 

Compare  the  arithmetical  operations,  on  the  same  sum  of  mo- 


164 


JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


ney  expressed  in  this  form,  and  expressed  in  the  poand  sterling 
and  its  division. 


£    s.  d.  qrs.  Dollars. 

Addition.      8  13  11  1-2=38.65 
4  12     8  3-4=20.61 
"13     6     8   1-4=59.26 

Multiplication  by  8. 
£   o.    d.  qrs.  Dollars. 
8  13  11   1-2=38.65 
20  8 

$309.20 


£    s.    d.  qrs.  Dollars. 
Subtraction.     8  13  11   1-2=38.65 
4  12     8  3-4=20.61 
1     ]T~2  3-4=18.04 

Division  by  8. 

£    s.    d.  qrs.  Dollars. 
8  13  11   1-2=8J   38.65 


20 


4.83 


173 
12 


173 

12 


2087 

4 

8350 


4J  66.800 
12J  16700 
20J  1391  8 

£69  11  8 


2087 
4 

8J  8350 
4J  1043 
12J  260  34 
20J  21   8  3-4 
£1   1   8  3-4 


A  bare  inspection  of  the  above  operations  will  evince  the  la- 
bor which  is  occasioned  by  subdividing  the  Unit  into  20ths, 
240ths,  and  960ths,  as  the  English  do,  and  as  we  have  done  ; 
and  the  ease  of  subdivision  in  a  decimal  ratio.  The  same  differ- 
ence arises  in  making  payment.  An  Englishman,  to  pay  £8,  13s. 
\\d.  1-2  qrs.,  must  find,  by  calculation,  what  combination  of  the 
coins  of  his  country  will  pay  this  sum  ;  but  an  American,  hav- 
ing the  same  sum  to  pay,  thus  expressed  $38.65,  will  know,  by 
inspection  only,  that  three  golden  pieces,  eight  units  or  dollars, 
six  tenths,  and  five  coppers,  pay  it  precisely. 

III.  The  third  condition  required  is,  that  the  Unit,  its  multiples, 
arid  subdivisions,  coincide  in  value  with  some  of  the  known 
coins  so  nearly,  that  the  people  may,  by  a  quick  reference  in  the 
mind,  estimate  their  value.  If  this  be  not  attended  to,  they  will 
be  very  long  in  adopting  the  innovation,  if  ever  they  adopt  it. 
Let  us  examine,  in  this  point  of  view,  each  of  the  four  coins 
proposed. 

1.  The  golden  piece  will  be  1-5  more  than  a  half  joe,  and 


APPENDIX.  165 

1-15  more  than  a  double  guinea.  It  will  be  readily  estimated, 
then,  by  reference  to  either  of  them  ;  but  more  readily  and  ac- 
curately as  equal  to  ten  dollars. 

2.  The  Unit,  or  Dollar,  is  a  known  coin,  and  the  most  familiar 
of  all,  to  the  minds  of  the  people.     It  is  already  adopted  from 
South  to  North  ;  has  identified  our  currency,  and  therefore  hap- 
pily offers  itself  as  a  Unit  already  introduced.     Our  public  debt, 
our  requisitions,  and  their  appointments,  have  given  it  actual 
and  long  possession  of  the  place  of  Unit.     The  course  of  our 
commerce,  too,  will  bring  us  more  of  this  than  of  any  other  for- 
eign coin,  and  therefore  renders  it  more  worthy  of  attention.     I 
know  of  no  Unit  which  can  be  proposed  in  competition  with  the 
Dollar,  but  the  Pound.    But  what  is  the  Pound?  1547  grains  of 
fine   silver  in  Georgia  ;  1289  grains  in  Virginia,  Connecticut, 
Rhode  Island,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire  ;    1031  1-4 
grains  in  Maryland,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey  ; 
966  3-4  grains  in  North  Carolina  and  New  York.     Which  of 
these  shall  we  adopt  ?     To  which  State  give  that  pre-eminence 
of  which  all  are  so  jealous  ?     And  on  which  impose  the  difficul- 
ties of  a  new  estimate  of  their  corn,  their  cattle,  and  other  com- 
modities ?     Or  shall  we  hang  the  pound  sterling,  as  a  common 
badge,  about  all  their  necks  ?    This  contains  1718  3-4  grains  of 
pure  silver.     It  is  difficult  to  familiarize  a  new  coin  to  the  peo- 
ple ;  it  is  more  difficult  to  familiarize  them  to  a  new  coin  with 
an  old  name.     Happily,  the  dollar  is  familiar  to  them  all,  and  is 
already  as  much  referred  to  for  a  measure  of  value,  as  their  re- 
spective provincial  pounds. 

3.  The  tenth  will  be  precisely  the  Spanish  bit,  or  half  pis- 
tereen.     This  is  a  coin  perfectly  familiar  to  us  all.     When  we 
shall  make  a  new  coin,  then,  equal  in  value  to  this,  it  will  be  of 
ready  estimate  with  the  people. 

4.  The  hundredth,  or  copper,  will  differ  little  from  the  copper  of 
the  four  Eastern  States,  which  is  1-108  of  a  dollar  ;  still  less  from 
the  penny  of  New  York  and  North  Carolina,  which  is  1-96  of  a 
dollar  ;  and  somewhat  more  from  the  penny  or  copper  of  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  Maryland,  which  is  1-90  of  a  dollar. 


166  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

It  will  be  about  the  medium  between  the  old  and  the  new  coppers 
of  these  States,  and  will  therefore  soon  be  substituted  for  them 
both.  In  Virginia,  coppers  have  never  been  in  use.  It  will  be 
as  easy,  therefore,  to  introduce  them  there  of  one  value  as  of  an- 
other. The  copper  coin  proposed  will  be  nearly  equal  to  three- 
fourths  of  their  penny,  which  is  the  same  with  the  penny  lawful 
of  the  Eastern  States. 

A  great  deal  of  small  change  is  useful  in  a  State,  and  tends  to 
reduce  the  price  of  small  articles.  Perhaps  it  would  not  be  amiss 
to  coin  three  more  pieces  of  silver,  one  of  the  value  of  five-tenths, 
or  half  a  dollar,  one  of  the  value  of  two-tenths,  which  would  be 
equal  to  the  Spanish  pistereen,  and  one  of  the  value  of  five  cop- 
pers, which  would  be  equal  to  the  Spanish  half-bit.  We  should 
then  have  five  silver  coins,  viz.: 

1.  The  Unit  or  Dollar : 

2.  The  half  dollar  or  five-tenths : 

3.  The  double  tenth,  equal  to  2,  or  one-fifth  of  a  dollar,  or  to 
the  pistereen : 

4.  The  tenth,  equal  to  a  Spanish  bit : 

5.  The  five  copper  piece,  equal  to  .5,  or  one-twentieth  of  a 
dollar,  or  the  half-bit. 

The  plan  reported  by  the  Financier  is  worthy  of  his  sound 
judgment.  It  admits,  however,  of  objection,  in  the  size  of  the 
Unit.  He  proposes  that  this  shall  be  the  1440th  part  of  a  dollar : 
so  that  it  will  require  1440  of  his  units  to  make  the  one  before 
proposed.  He  was  led  to  adopt  this  by  a  mathematical  attention 
to  our  old  currencies,  all  of  which  this  Unit  will  measure  without 
leaving  a  fraction.  But  as  our  object  is  to  get  rid  of  those  cur- 
rencies, the  advantage  derived  from  this  coincidence  will  soon  be 
past,  whereas  the  inconveniences  of  this  Unit  will  forever  remain, 
if  they  do  not  altogether  prevent  its  introduction.  It  is  defective 
in  two  of  the  three  requisites  of  a  Money  Unit.  1.  It  is  incon- 
venient in  its  application  to  the  ordinary  money  transactions. 
10.000  dollars  will  require  eight  figures  to  express  them,  to  wit, 
14,400,000  units.  A  horse  or  bullock  of  eighty  dollars  value, 
will  require  a  notation  of  six  figures,  to  wii,  115,200  units.  As 


APPENDIX.  167 

a  money  of  account,  this  will  be  laborious,  even  when  facilitated 
by  the  aid  of  decimal  arithmetic :  as  a  common  measure  of  the 
value  of  property,  it  will  be  too  minute  to  be  comprehended  by 
the  people.  The  French  are  subjected  to  very  laborious  calcula- 
tions, the  Livre  being  their  ordinary  money  of  account,  and  this 
but  between  l-5th  and  l-6th  of  a  dollar ;  but  what  will  be  our 
labors,  should  our  money  of  account  be  l-1440th  of  a  dollar? 
2.  It  is  neither  equal,  nor  near  to  any  of  the  known  coins  in 
value. 

If  we  determine  that  a  Dollar  shall  be  our  Unit,  we  must  then 
say  with  precision  what  a  Dollar  is.  This  coin,  struck  at  different 
times,  of  different  weights  and  fineness,  is  of  different  values. 
Sir  Isaac  Newton's  assay  and  representation  to  the  Lords  of  the 
Treasury,  in  1717,  of  those  which  he  examined,  make  their 
values  as  follows : 

dwts.  grs. 

The  Seville  piece  of  eight         .        .          17 — 12  containing  387  grains  of  pure  silver 
The  Mexico  piece  of  eight    .         .         .     17 — 10  5-9     "        385  1-2 
The  Pillar  piece  of  eight        .        .  17—9  "         385  3-4 

The  new  Seville  piece  of  eight  .         .      14—  "         308  7-10 

The  Financier  states  the  old  Dollar  as  containing  376  grains 
of  fine  silver,  arid  the  new  365  grains.  If  the  Dollars  circulating 
among  us  be  of  every  date  equally,  we  should  examine  the  quan- 
tity of  pure  metal  in  each,  and  from  them  form  an  average  for 
our  Unit.  This  is  a  work  proper  to  be  committed  to  mathemati- 
cians as  well  as  merchants,  and  which  should  be  decided  on  actual 
and  accurate  experiment. 

The  quantum  of  alloy  is  also  to  be  decided.  Some  is  neces- 
sary, to  prevent  the  coin  from  wearing  too  fast ;  too  much,  fills 
our  pockets  with  copper,  instead  of  silver.  The  silver  coin  as- 
sayed by  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  varied  from  1  1-2  to  76  pennyweights 
alloy,  in  the  pound  troy  of  mixed  metal.  The  British  standard 
has  18  dwt.;  the  Spanish  coins  assayed  by  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
have  from  18  to  19  1-2  dwt.;  the  new  French  crown  has  in  fact 
19  1-2,  though  by  edict,  it  should  have  20  dwt.,  that  is  1-12. 

The  taste  of  our  countrymen  will  require,  that  their  furniture 


168  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

plate  should  be  as  good  as  the  British  standard.  Taste  cannot  be 
controlled  by  law.  Let  it  then  give  the  law,  in  a  point  which  is 
indifferent  to  a  certain  degree.  Let  the  Legislature  fix  the  alloy 
of  furniture  plate  at  18  dwt,  the  British  standard,  and  Congress 
that  of  their  coin  at  one  ounce  in  the  pound,  the  French  standard. 
This  proportion  has  been  found  convenient  for  the  alloy  of  gold 
coin,  and  it  will  simplify  the  system  of  our  mint  to  alloy  both 
metals  in  the  same  degree.  The  coin,  too,  being  the  least  pure, 
will  be  the  less  easily  melted  into  plate.  These  reasons  are  light, 
indeed,  and,  of  course,  will  only  weigh,  if  no  heavier  ones  can 
be  opposed  to  them. 

The  proportion  between  the  values  of  gold  and  silver  is  a 
mercantile  problem  altogether.  It  would  be  inaccurate  to  fix  it 
by  the  popular  exchanges  of  a  half  Joe  for  eight  dollars,  a  Louis 
for  four  French  crowns,  or  five  Louis  for  twenty-three  dollars. 
The  first  of  these,  would  be  to  adopt  the  Spanish  proportion  be- 
tween gold  and  silver ;  the  second,  the  French ;  the  third,  a 
mere  popular  barter,  wherein  convenience  is  consulted  more  than 
accuracy.  The  legal  proportion  in  Spain  is  16  for  1 ;  in  Eng- 
land, 15  1-2  for  1 ;  in  France,  15  for  1.  The  Spaniards  and  Eng- 
lish are  found,  in  experience,  to  retain  an  over-proportion  of  gold 
coins,  and  to  lose  their  silver.  The  French  have  a  greater  pro- 
portion of  silver.  The  difference  at  market  has  been  on  the  de- 
crease. The  Financier  states  it  at  present,  as  at  14  1-2  for  one. 
Just  principles  will  lead  us  to  disregard  legal  proportions  altogeth- 
er ;  to  enquire  into  the  market  price  of  gold,  in  the  several  coun- 
tries with  which  we  shall  principally  be  connected  in  commerce, 
and  to  take  an  average  from  them.  Perhaps  we  might,  with  safety, 
lean  to  a  proportion  somewhat  above  par  for  gold,  considering  our 
neighborhood,  and  commerce  with  the  sources  of  the  coins,  and 
the  tendency  which  the  high  price  of  gold  in  Spain  has,  to  draw 
thither  all  that  of  their  mines,  leaving  silver  principally  for  our 
and  other  markets.  It  is  not  impossible  that  15  for  1,  may  be 
found  an  eligible  proportion.  I  state  it,  however,  as  a  conjecture 
only. 

As  to  the  alloy  for  gold  coin,  the  British  is  an  ounce  in  the 


APPENDIX.  169 

pound;  the  French,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese  differ  from  that, 
only  from  a  quarter  of  a  grain,  to  a  grain  and  a  half.  I  should, 
therefore,  prefer  the  British,  merely  because  its  fraction  stands  in 
a  more  simple  form,  and  facilitates  the  calculations  into  which  it 
enters. 

Should  the  Unit  be  fixed  at  365  grains  of  pure  silver,  gold  at 
15  for  1,  and  the  alloy  of  both  be  one-twelfth,  the  weight  of  the 
coins  will  be  as  follows : 

Grains.  Grains.  dwt  Grains. 

The  Golden  piece  containing   242  1-3  of  pure  metal,  22.12  of  alloy,  will  weigh  11—1.45 

The  Unit  or  Dollar                .     365            ...  33.18        .        .        .  16—14.18 

The  half  dollar,  or  five  tenths,  182  1-2         ...  16.59    ....  8— 7.09 

The  fifth,  or  Pistereen,                 73           ...          6.63        .        .        .  3 — 7.63 

The  tenth,  or  Bit.           .        .      36 1-2         .        .        .      3.318  ....  1—15.818 

The  twentieth,  or  half  Bit,   .181-1.        .        .           1.059      .        .        .  19.9 

The  quantity  of  fine  silver  which  shall  constitute  the  Unit, 
being  settled,  and  the  proportion  of  the  value  of  gold  to  that  of 
silver ;  a  table  should  be  formed  from  the  assay  before  suggested, 
classing  the  several  foreign  coins  according  to  their  fineness,  de- 
claring the  worth  of  a  pennyweight  or  grain  in  each 'class,  and 
that  they  shall  be  lawful  tenders  at  those  rates,  if  not  clipped  or 
otherwise  diminished  ;  and,  where  diminished,  offering  their  value 
for  them  at  the  mint,  deducting  the  expense  of  re-coinage.  Here 
the  Legislatures  should  co-operate  with  Congress,  in  providing 
that  no  money  be  received  or  paid  at  their  treasuries,  or  by  any 
of  their  officers,  or  any  bank,  but  on  actual  weight ;  in  making 
it  criminal,  in  a  high  degree,  to  diminish  their  own  coins,  and,  in 
some  smaller  degree,  to  offer  them  in  payment  when  diminished. 

That  this  subject  may  be  properly  prepared,  and  in  readiness 
for  Congress  to  take  up  at  their  meeting  in  November,  something 
must  now  be  done.  The  present  session  drawing  to  a  close,  they 
probably  would  not  choose  to  enter  far  into  this  undertaking 
themselves.  The  Committee  of  the  States,  however,  during  the 
recess,  will  have  time  to  digest  it  thoroughly,  if  Congress  will 
fix  some  general  principles  for  their  government.  Suppose  they 
be  instructed, 

To  appoint  proper  persons  to  assay  and  examine,  with  the  ut- 


170  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

most  accuracy  practicable,  the  Spanish  milled  dollars  of  different 
dates,  in  circulation  with  us. 

To  assay  and  examine,  in  like  manner,  the  fineness  of  all  the 
other  coins  which  may  be  found  in  circulation  within  these 
States. 

To  report  to  the  Committee  the  result  of  these  assays,  by  them 
to  be  laid  before  Congress. 

To  appoint,  also,  proper  persons  to  enquire  what  are  the  pro- 
portions between  the  values  of  fine  gold,  and  fine  silver,  at  the 
markets  of  the  several  countries  with  which  we  are,  or  probably 
may  be,  connected  in  commerce  ;  and  what  would  be  a  proper 
proportion  here,  having  regard  to  the  average  of  their  values  at 
those  markets,  and  to  other  circumstances,  and  to  report  the  same 
to  the  Committee,  by  them  to  be  laid  before  Congress. 

To  prepare  an  Ordinance  for  establishing  the  Unit  of  Money 
within  these  States ;  for  subdividing  it ;  and  for  striking  coins  of 
gold,  silver,  and  copper,  on  the  following  principles : 

That  the  Money  Unit  of  these  States  shall  be  equal  in  value 
to  a  Spanish  milled  dollar  containing  so  much  fine  silver  as  the 
assay,  before  directed,  shall  show  to  be  contained,  on  an  average, 
in  dollars  of  the  several  dates  in  circulation  with  us. 

That  this  Unit  shall  be  divided  into  tenths  and  hundredths  ; 
that  there  shall  be  a  coin  of  silver  of  the  value  of  a  Unit ;  one 
other  of  the  same  metal,  of  the  value  of  one-tenth  of  a  Unit ;  one 
other  of  copper,  of  the  value  of  the  hundredth  of  a  Unit. 

That  there  shall  be  a  coin  of  gold  of  the  value  of  ten  Units, 
according  to  the  report  before  directed,  and  the  judgment  of  the 
Committee  thereon. 

That  the  alloy  of  the  said  coins  of  gold  and  silver,  shall  be 
equal  in  weight  to  one-eleventh  part  of  the  fine  metal. 

That  there  be  proper  devices  for  these  coins. 

That  measures  be  proposed  for  preventing  their  diminution, 
and  also  their  currency,  and  that  of  any  others,  when  diminished. 

That  the  several  foreign  coins  be  described  and  classed  in  the 
said  Ordinance,  the  fineness  of  each  class  stated,  and  its  value  by 
weight  estimated  in  Units  and  decimal  parts  of  Units. 


APPENDIX.  171 

And  that  the  said  draught  of  an  Ordinance  be  reported  to  Con- 
gress at  their  next  meeting,  for  their  consideration  and  determi- 
nation. 

Supplementary  Explanations. 

The  preceding  notes  having  been  submitted  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  Financier,  he  favored  me  with  his  opinion  and  obser- 
vations on  them,  which  render  necessary  the  following  supple- 
mentary explanations. 

I  observed,  in  the  preceding  notes,  that  the  true  proportion  of 
value  between  gold  and  silver  was  a  mercantile  problem  alto- 
gether, and  that,  perhaps,  fifteen  for  one,  might  be  found  an 
eligible  proportion.  The  Financier  is  so  good  as  to  inform  me, 
that  this  would  be  higher  than  the  market  would  justify.  Con- 
fident of  his  better  information  on  this  subject,  I  recede  from 
that  idea.* 

He  also  informs  me,  that  the  several  coins,  in  circulation 
among  us,  have  been  already  assayed  with  accuracy,  and  the 
result  published  in  a  work  on  that  subject.  The  assay  of  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  had  superseded,  in  my  mind,  the  necessity  of  this 
operation  as  to  the  older  coins,  which  were  the  subject  of  his 
examination.  This  later  work,  with  equal  reason,  may  be  con- 
sidered as  saving  the  same  trouble  as  to  the  latter  coins. 

So  far,  then,  I  accede  to  the  opinions  of  the  Financier.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  seems  to  concur  with  me,  in  thinking  his 
smallest  fractional  division  too  minute  for  a  Unit,  and,  therefore, 
proposes  to  transfer  that  denomination  to  his  largest  silver  coin, 
containing  1000  of  the  units  first  proposed,  and  worth  about 
4s.  2d.  lawful,  or  25-36  of  a  Dollar.  The  only  question  then 
remaining  between  us  is,  whether  the  Dollar,  or  this  coin,  be 

*  In  a  newspaper,  which  frequently  gives  good  details  in  political  economy,  I  find, 
under  the  Hamburgh  head,  that  the  present  market  price  of  Gold  and  Silver  is.  iu 
England,  15.5  for  1  :  in  Russia,  15  :  in  Holland,  14.75  :  iu  Savoy,  14.6  :  in  France, 
14.42:  in  Spain,  14.3:  in  Germany,  14.155:  the  average  of  which  is  14.675  or  14 
5-8.  I  would  still  incline  to  give  a  little  more  than  the  market  price  for  gold,  be- 
cause of  its  superior  convenience  in  transportation. 


172  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

best  for  the  Unit.     We  both  agree  that  the  ease  of  adoption  with 
the  people,  is  the  thing  to  be  aimed  at. 

1.  As  to  the  Dollar,  events  have  overtaken  and  superseded  the 
question.     It  is  no  longer  a  doubt  whether  the  people  can  adopt 
it  with  ease  ;  they  have  adopted  it,  and  will  have  to  be  turned 
out  of  that,  into  another  tract  of  calculation,  if  another  Unit  be 
assumed.     They  have  now  two  Units,  which  they  use  with 
equal  facility,  viz.,  the  Pound  of  their  respective  State,  and  the 
Dollar.     The  first  of  these  is  peculiar  to  each  State  :  the  second, 
happily,  common  to  all.     In  each  State,  the  people  have  an  easy 
rule  of  converting  the  pound  of  their  State   into  dollars,  or  dol- 
lars into  pounds ;  and  this  is  enough  for  them,  without  knowing 
how  this  may  be  done  in  every  State  of  the  Union.     Such  of 
them  as  live  near  enough  the  borders  of  their  State  to  have  deal- 
ings with  their  neighbors,  learn  also  the  rule  of  their  neighbors  : 
thus,  in  Virginia  and  the  Eastern  States,  where  the  dollar  is  6s. 
or  3-10  of  a  pound,  to  turn  pounds  into  dollars,  they  multiply 
by  10  and  divide  by  3.     To  turn  dollars  into  pounds,  they  mul- 
tiply by  3,  and  divide  by  10.     Those  in  Virginia  who  live  near 
to  Carolina,  Avhcre  the  dollar  is  8s.  or  4-10  of  a  pound,  learn  the 
operation  of  that  State,  which  is  a  multiplication  by  4,  and  divi- 
sion  by  10,  et  e  converse.     Those  who  live  near   Maryland, 
where  the  dollar  is  7s.  6d.  or  3-8  of  a  pound,  multiply  by  3,  and 
divide  by  8,  ct  e  converso.     All  these  operations  are  easy,  and 
have  been  found,  by  experience,  not  too  much  for  the  arith- 
metic of  the  people,  when  they  have  occasion  to  convert  their 
old  Unit  into  dollars,  or  the  reverse. 

2.  As  to  the  Unit  of  the  Financier;  in  the  States  where  the 
dollars  is  3-10  of  a  pound,  this  Unit  will  be  5-24.     Its  conversion 
into  the  pound  then,  will  be  by  a  multiplication  of  5,  and  a  di- 
vision by  24.     In  the  States  where  the  dollar  is  3-8  of  a  pound, 
this  Unit  will  be  25-96  of  a  pound,  and  the  operation  must  be  to 
multiply  by  25,  and  divide  by  96,  et  e  converso.     Where  the 
dollar  is  4-10  of  a  pound,  this  Unit  will  be  5-18.     The  simplicity 
of  the  fraction,  and  of  course  the  facility  of  conversion  arid  recon- 
version, is  therefore  against  this  Unit,  and  in  favor  of  the  dollar,  in 


APPENDIX.  173 

every  instance.  The  only  advantage  it  has  over  the  dollar,  is,  that 
it  will  in  every  case  express  our  farthing  without  a  remainder ; 
whereas,  though  the  dollar  and  its  decimals  will  do  this  in  many 
cases,  it  will  not  in  all.  But,  even  in  these,  by  extending  your 
notation  one  figure  further,  to  wit,  to  thousands,  you  approximate 
to  perfect  accuracy  within  less  than  the  two-thousandth  part  of  a 
dollar ;  an  atom  in  money  which  every  one  would  neglect.  Against 
this  single  inconvenience,  the  other  advantages  of  the  dollar  are 
more  than  sufficient  to  preponderate.  This  Unit  will  present  to 
the  people  a  new  coin,  and  whether  they  endeavor  to  estimate  its 
value  by  comparing  it  with  a  Pound,  or  with  a  Dollar,  the  Units 
they  now  possess,  they  will  find  the  fraction  very  compound,  and 
of  course  less  accommodated  to  their  comprehension  and  habits 
than  the  dollar.  Indeed  the  probability  is,  that  they  could  never 
be  led  to  compute  in  it  generally. 

The  Financier  supposes  that  the  1-100  part  of  a  dollar  is  not  suffi- 
ciently small,  where  the  poor  are  purchasers  or  vendors.  If  it  is 
not,  make  a  smaller  coin.  But  I  suspect  that  it  is  small  enough. 
Let  us  examine  facts,  in  countries  where  we  are  acquainted  with 
them.  In  Virginia,  where  our  towns  are  few,  small,  and  of  course 
their  demand  for  necessaries  very  limited,  we  have  never  yet  been 
able  to  introduce  a  copper  coin  at  all.  The  smallest  coin  which 
anybody  will  receive  there,  is  the  half-bit,  or  1-20  of  a  dollar.  In 
those  States  where  the  towns  are  larger  and  more  populous,  a 
more  habitual  barter  of  small  wants,  has  called  for  a  copper  coin 
of  1-90,  1-96,  or  1-108  of  a  dollar.  In  England,  where  the  towns 
are  many  and  populous,  and  where  ages  of  experience  have  ma- 
tured the  conveniences  of  intercourse,  they  have  found  that  some 
wants  may  be  supplied  for  a  farthing,  or  1-208  of  a  dollar,  and 
they  have  accommodated  a  coin  to  this  want.  This  business  is 
evidently  progressive.  In  Virginia,  we  are  far  behind.  In  some 
other  States,  they  are  further  advanced,  to  wit,  to  the  appreciation 
of  1-90,  1-96,  1-108  of  a  dollar.  To  this  most  advanced  state, 
then,  I  accommodated  my  smallest  coin  in  the  decimal  arrange 
ment,  as  a  money  of  payment,  corresponding  with  the  money  of 
account.  I  have  no  doubt  the  time  will  come  when  a  smallei 


174  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

coin  will  be  called  for.  When  that  comes,  let  it  be  made.  It 
will  probably  be  the  half  of  the  copper  I  suppose,  that  is  to  say, 
5-1000  or  .005  of  a  dollar,  this  being  very  nearly  the  farthing  of 
England.  But  it  will  be  time  enough  to  make  it,  when  the  peo- 
ple shall  be  ready  to  receive  it. 

My  proposition  then,  is,  that  our  notation  of  money  shall  be 
decimal,  descending  ad  libitum  of  the  person  noting  ;  that  the 
Unit  of  this  notation  shall  be  a  Dollar ;  that  coins  shall  be  ac- 
commodated to  it  from  ten  dollars  to  the  hundreth  of  a  dollar  • 
and  that,  to  set  this  on  foot,  the  resolutions  be  adopted  which 
were  proposed  in  the  notes,  only  substituting  an  enquiry  into  the 
fineness  of  the  coins  in  lieu  of  an  assay  of  them. 


[NOTE    G.] 

I  have  sometimes  asked  myself,  whether  my  country  is  the 
better  for  my  having  lived  at  all  ?  I  do  not  know  that  it  is.  I 
have  been  the  instrument  of  doing  the  following  things ;  but  they 
would  have  been  done  by  others  ;  some  of  them,  perhaps,  a  little 
better. 

The  Rivanna  had  never  been  used  for  navigation  ;  scarcely  an 
empty  canoe  had  ever  passed  down  it.  Soon  after  I  came  of  age, 
I  examined  its  obstructions,  set  on  foot  a  subscription  for  remov- 
ing them,  got  an  Act  of  Assembly  passed,  and  the  thing  effected, 
so  as  to  be  used  completely  and  fully  for  carrying  down  all  our 
produce. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence. 

I  proposed  the  demolition  of  the  church  establishment,  and  the 
freedom  of  religion.  It  could  only  be  done  by  degrees ;  to  wit, 
the  Act  of  1776,  c.  2.  exempted  dissenters  from  contributions  to 
the  Church,  and  left  the  Church  clergy  to  be  supported  by  volun- 
tary contributions  of  their  own  sect ;  was  continued  from  year  to 
year,  and  made  perpetual  1779,  c.  36.  I  prepared  the  act  for  re- 
ligious freedom  in  1777,  as  part  of  the  revisal,  which  was  not 


APPENDIX.  175 

reported  to  the  Assembly  till  1779,  and  that  particular  law  not 
passed  till  1785,  and  then  by  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Madison. 

The  act  putting  an  end  to  entails. 

The  act  prohibiting  the  importation  of  slaves. 

The  act  concerning  citizens,  and  establishing  the  natural  right 
of  man  to  expatriate  himself,  at  will. 

The  act  changing  the  course  of  descents,  and  giving  the  in- 
heritance to  all  the  children,  &c.,  equally,  I  drew  as  part  of  the 
revisal. 

The  act  for  apportioning  crimes  and  punishments,  part  of  the 
same  work,  I  drew.  When  proposed  to  the  legislature,  by  Mr. 
Madison,  in  1785,  it  failed  by  a  single  vote.  G.  K.  Taylor  after- 
wards, in  1796,  proposed  the  same  subject ;  avoiding  the  adoption 
of  any  part  of  the  diction  of  mine,  the  text  of  which  had  been 
studiously  drawn  in  the  technical  terms  of  the  law,  so  as  to  give 
no  occasion  for  new  questions  by  new  expressions.  When  I  drew 
mine,  public  labor  was  thought  the  best  punishment  to  be  substi- 
tuted for  death.  But,  while  I  was  in  France,  I  heard  of  a  society 
in  England,  who  had  successfully  introduced  solitary  confine- 
ment, and  saw  the  drawing  of  a  prison  at  Lyons,  in  France, 
formed  on  the  idea  of  solitary  confinement.  And,  being  applied  to 
by  the  Governor  of  Virginia  for  the  plan  of  a  Capitol  and  Prison, 
I  sent  him  the  Lyons  plan,  accompanying  it  with  a  drawing  on  a 
smaller  scale,  better  adapted  to  our  use.  This  was  in  June,  1786. 
Mr.  Taylor  very  judiciously  adopted  this  idea,  (which  had  now 
been  acted  on  in  Philadelphia,  probably  from  the  English  model) 
and  substituted  labor  in  confinement,  to  the  public  labor  proposed 
by  the  Committee  of  revisal ;  which  themselves  would  have  done, 
had  they  been  to  act  on  the  subject  again.  The  public  mind 
was  ripe  for  this  in  1796,  when  Mr.  Taylor  proposed  it,  and 
ripened  chiefly  by  the  experiment  in  Philadelphia ;  whereas,  in 
1785,  when  it  had  been  proposed  to  our  Assembly,  they  were  not 
quite  ripe  for  it. 

In  1789  and  1790, 1  had  a  great  number  of  olive  plants,  of  the 
best  kind,  sent  from  Marseilles  to  Charleston,  for  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia.  They  were  planted,  and  are  flourishing ;  and, 


176  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

though  not  yet  multiplied,  they  will  be  the  germ  of  that  cultiva- 
tion in  those  States. 

In  1790, 1  got  a  cask  of  heavy  upland  rice,  from  the  river  Den- 
bigh, in  Africa,  about  lat.  9°  30'  North,  which  I  sent  to  Charles- 
ton, in  hopes  it  might  supersede  the  culture  of  the  wet  rice,  which 
renders  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  so  pestilential  through  the 
summer.  It  was  divided,  and  a  part  sent  to  Georgia.  I  know 
not  whether  it  has  been  attended  to  in  South  Carolina ;  but  it 
has  spread  in  the  upper  parts  of  Georgia,  so  as  to  have  become 
almost  general,  and  is  highly  prized.  Perhaps  it  may  answer  in 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky.  The  greatest  service  which  can  be 
rendered  any  country  is,  to  add  an  useful  plant  to  its  culture ; 
especially,  a  bread  grain ;  next  in  value  to  bread  is  oil. 

Whether  the  act  for  the  more  general  diffusion  of  knowledge 
will  ever  be  carried  into  complete  e fleet,  I  know  not.  It  was  re- 
ceived by  the  legislature  with  great  enthusiasm  at  first ;  and  a 
small  effort  was  made  in  1796,  by  the  act  to  establish  public 
schools,  to  carry  a  part  of  it  into  effect,  viz.,  that  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  free  English  schools ;  but  the  option  given  to  the 
courts  has  defeated  the  intention  of  the  act.* 


[NOTE  H.] 

New  York,  October  13,  1789. 

SIR, 

In  the  selection  of  characters  to  fill  the  important  offices  of 
Government,  in  the  United  States,  I  was  naturally  led  to  contem- 
plate the  talents  and  dispositions  which  I  knew  you  to  possess  and 
entertain  for  the  service  of  your  country  ;  and  without  being  able 
to  consult  your  inclination,  or  to  derive  any  knowledge  of  your 
intention  from  your  letters,  either  to  myself  or  to  any  other  of 

• 

[*  It  appears,  from  a  blank  space  at  the  bottom  of  this  paper,  that  a  continua- 
tion had  been  intended.  Indeed,  from  the  loose  manner  in  which  the  above  notes 
are  written,  it  may  be  inferred,  that  they  were  originally  intended  as  memoranda 
only,  to  be  used  in  some  more  permanent  form.] 


APPENDIX.  177 

your  friends,  I  was  determined,  as  well  by  motives  of  private  re- 
gard, as  a  conviction  of  public  propriety,  to  nominate  you  for  the 
Department  of  State,  which,  under  its  present  organization,  in- 
volves many  of  the  most  interesting  objects  of  the  Executive 
authority.  But  grateful  as  your  acceptance  of  this  commission 
would  be  to  me,  I  am,  at  the  same  time,  desirous  to  accommodate 
your  wishes,  and  I  have,  therefore,  forborne  to  nominate  your 
successor  at  the  court  of  Versailles,  until  I  should  be  informed 
of  your  determination. 

Being  on  the  eve  of  a  journey  through  the  Eastern  States,  with 
a  view  to  observe  the  situation  of  the  country,  and  in  a  hope  of 
perfectly  re-establishing  my  health,  which  a  series  of  indisposi- 
tions has  much  impaired,  I  have  deemed  it  proper  to  make  this 
communication  of  your  appointment,  in  order  that  you  might 
lose  no  time,  should  it  be  your  wish  to  visit  Virginia  during  the 
recess  of  Congress,  which  will  probably  be  the  most  convenient 
season,  both  as  it  may  respect  your  private  concerns  and  the 
public  service. 

Unwilling,  as  I  am,  to  interfere  in  the  direction  of  your  choice 
of  assistants,  I  shall  only  take  the  liberty  of  observing  to  you, 
that  from  warm  recommendations  which  I  have  received  in  be- 
half of  Roger  Alden,  Esq.,  assistant  Secretary  to  the  late  Congress, 
I  have  placed  all  the  papers  thereunto  belonging,  under  his  care. 
Those  papers  which  more  properly  appertain  to  the  office  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  are  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Jay,  who 
has  been  so  obliging  as  to  continue  his  good  offices,  and  they  are 
in  the  immediate  charge  of  Mr.  Remsen. 

With  sentiments  of  very  great  esteem  and  regard, 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

GEOKGE  WASHINGTON. 
The  Honorable  Thomas  Jefferson. 

I  take  this  occasion  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  several 
favors,  of  the  4th  and  5th  of  December  of  the  last,  and  10th  of 
May  of  the  present  year,  and  to  thank  you  for  the  communica- 
tions therein.  G.  W. 

VOL  i.  12 


178  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

New  York,  November  30,  1789. 

DEAR  SIR, 

You  will  perceive  by  the  enclosed  letter,  (which  was  left  for 
you  at  the  office  of  Foreign  Affairs,  when  I  made  a  journey  to 
the  Eastern  States,)  the  motives  on  which  I  acted  with  regard  to 
yourself,  and  the  occasion  of  my  explaining  them  at  that  early 
period. 

Having  now  reason  to  hope,  from  Mr.  Trumbull's  report,  that 
you  will  be  arrived  at  Norfolk  before  this  time,  (on  which  event 
I  would  most  cordially  congratulate  you,)  and  having  a  safe  con- 
veyance by  Mr.  Griffin,  I  forward  your  commission  to  Virginia ; 
with  a  request  to  be-made  acquainted  with  your  sentiments  as  soon 
as  you  shall  find  it  convenient  to  communicate  them  to  me. 
With  sentiments  of  very  great  esteem  and  regard, 
I  am,  dear  sir, 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 
The  Honorable  Thomas  Jefferson. 


BOOK    II. 
CORRESPONDENCE, 


PART  I— BEFORE  HIS  MISSION  TO  EUROPE,  1773-1783. 
«      II— WHILE  MINISTER  TO  FRANCE,  1784-1790. 
"    III— FROM   HIS  RETURN  TO   UNITED  STATES  TO 
HIS  DEATH,  1790-1826. 


INTRODUCTORY    TO    BOOK    II. 


THIS  division  of  the  work  includes  all  the  Correspondence,  official  and  private,  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  from  1762  to  his  death  in  1826,  which  possesses  general  interest 
or  permanent  public  value.  For  the  purpose  of  easy  reference,  it  has  been  classified 
as  follows: 

PART  I. — LETTERS  WRITTEN  BEFORE  HIS  MISSION  TO  EUROPE. — The  letters  included 
in  this  division,  consist  principally  of  the  private  correspondence  of  the  Author's 
youth,  and  his  official  letters  while  Governor  of  Virginia.  The  former  are  interest- 
ing mainly  as  illustrating  his  character,  his  views,  and  his  purposes  in  life.  The 
latter,  relating  to  the  period  of  the  invasion  of  Virginia,  and  the  military  operations 
in  the  South,  possess  no  inconsiderable  historical  value. 

PAET  II. — LETTERS  WRITTEN  WHILE  IN  EUROPE. — The  letters  included  in  this  divi- 
sion, relate  principally  to  the  objects  of  his  mission  to  Europe — his  efforts  to  extend 
the  commercial  relations  of  this  country  with  the  European  nations — the  history  of 
particular  treaties  of  commerce — piratical  depredations  upon  our  commerce  by  the 
Barbary  States — our  Foreign  Debt — our  relations  generally  with  Europe — the  rise 
and  progress  of  the  French  Revolution  through  its  early  stages — his  views  of  the 
Confederation  and  the  new  Constitution — the  political  and  social  condition  of  Europe, 
<tc.,  all  interspersed  with  the  reflections  by  the  Author  upon  every  variety  of  topic, 
literary,  scientific,  social,  and  political. 

PART  III. — LETTERS  WRITTEX  AFTER  HIS  RETURN  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  TO  THE  TIME 
OF  HIS  DEATH. — To  the  great  majority  of  readers,  this  will  be  found  to  be  much  the 
most  interesting  division  of  the  work,  ranging,  as  it  does,  over  the  whole  field  of  Lit- 
erature, Philosophy,  Science,  Religion,  Morals,  History,  and  Politics,  and  embodying 
the  mature  views  of  the  Author  upon  nearly  all  the  great  Constitutional  questions 
which  have  arisen  under  our  Government,  and  many  of  the  most  important  prob- 
lems which  have  agitated  the  world. 


PART   I. 

LETTERS  WRITTEN  BEFORE  HIS  MISSION  TO  EUROPE. 

1773-1783. 


TO    JOHN    PAGE. 

FAIEFIELD,  December  25,  1762. 

DEAR  PAGE, — This  very  day,  to  others  the  day  of  greatest  mirth 
and  jollity,  sees  me  overwhelmed  with  more  and  greater  mis- 
fortunes than  have  befallen  a  descendant  of  Adam  for  these  thou- 
sand years  past,  lam  sure ;  and  perhaps,  after  excepting  Job,  since 
the  creation  of  the  world.  I  think  his  misfortunes  were  somewhat 
greater  than  mine ;  for,  although  we  may  be  pretty  nearly  on 
a  level  in  other  respects,  yet,  I  thank  my  God,  I  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  brother  Job  in  this,  that  Satan  has  not  as  yet  put 
forth  his  hand  to  load  me  with  bodily  afflictions.  You  must 
know,  dear  Page,  that  I  am  now  in  a  house  surrounded  with 
enemies,  who  take  counsel  together  against  my  soul ;  and  when 
I  lay  me  down  to  rest,  they  say  among  themselves,  come  let  us 
destroy  him.  I  am  sure  if  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  Devil  in 
this  world,  he  must  have  been  here  last  night,  and  have  had 
some  hand  in  contriving  what  happened  to  me.  Do  you  think 
the  cursed  rats  (at  his  instigation,  I  suppose)  did  not  eat  up  my 
pocket-book,  which  was  in  my  pocket,  within  a  foot  of  my 
head  ?  And  not  contented  with  plenty  for  the  present,  they 
carried  away  my  jemmy-worked  silk  garters,  and  half  a  dozen 
new  minuets  I  had  just  got,  to  serve,  I  suppose,  as  provision  for 
the  winter.  But  of  this  I  should  not  have  accused  the  Devil, 
(because,  you  know  rats  will  be  rats,  and  hunger,  without  the 
addition  of  his  instigations,  might  have  urged  them  to  do  this,) 


182  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

if  something  worse,  and  from  a  different  quarter,  had  not  hap- 
pened. You  know  it  rained  last  night,  or  if  you  do  not  know 
it,  I  am  sure  I  do.  When  I  went  to  bed,  I  laid  my  watch  in 
the  usual  place,  and  going  to  take  her  up  after  I  arose  this 
morning,  I  found  her  in  the  same  place,  it's  true,  but  Quantum 
mutatus  ab  illo  !  all  afloat  in  water,  let  in  at  a  leak  in  the  roof 
of  the  house,  and  as  silent  and  still  as  the  rats  that  had  eat  my 
pocket-book.  Now,  you  know,  if  chance  had  had  anything  to 
do  in  this  matter,  there  were  a  thousand  other  spots  where  it 
might  have  chanced  to  leak  as  well  as  at  this  one,  which  was 
perpendicularly  over  my  watch.  But  I'll  tell  you,  it's  my 
opinion  that  the  Devil  came  and  bored  the  hole  over  it  on  pur- 
pose. Well,  as  I  was  saying,  my  poor  watch  had  lost  her 
speech.  I  should  not  have  cared  much  for  this,  but  something 
worse  attended  it ;  the  subtle  particles  of  the  water  with  which 
the  case  was  filled,  had,  by  their  penetration,  so  overcome  the 
cohesion  of  the  particles  of  the  paper,  of  which  my  dear  picture 
and  watch-paper  were  composed,  that,  in  attempting  to  take 
them  out  to  dry  them,  good  God  !  Mens  horret  referre  !  My 
cursed  fingers  gave  them  such  a  rent,  as  I  fear  I  never  shall  get 
over.  This,  cried  I, was  the  last  stroke  Satan  had  in  reserve  for 
me  ;  he  knew  I  cared  not  for  anything  else  he  could  do  to  me, 
and  was  determined  to  try  his  last  most  fatal  expedient.  "Multis 
fortuncB  milneribus  percussus,  huic  uni  me  imparem  se?isi,  et 
penitus  succubui  /"  I  would  have  cried  bitterly,  but  I  thought 
it  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  man,  and  a  man  too,  who  had  read 
7o*>'  otjuf,  TU  /JEV  fqp'TJwo',  in  d'ax  etp'^uiv.  However,  whatever  mis- 
fortunes may  attend  the  picture  or  lover,  my  hearty  prayers  shall 
be,  that  all  the  health  and  happiness  which  Heaven  can  send 
may  be  the  portion  of  the  original,  and  that  so  much  goodness 
may  ever  meet  with  what  may  be  most  agreeable  in  this  world, 
as  I  am  sure  it  must  be  in  the  next.  And  now,  although  the 
picture  be  defaced,  there  is  so  lively  an  image  of  her  imprinted 
in  my  mind,  that  I  shall  think  of  her  too  often,  I  fear,  for  my 
peace  of  mind ;  and  too  often,  I  am  sure,  to  get  through  old 
Coke  this  winter ;  for  God  knows  I  have  not  seen  him  since  I 


CORRESPONDENCE.  183 

packed  him  up  in  my  trunk  in  Williamsburg.  Well,  Page,  I 
do  wish  the  Devil  had  old  Coke,  for  I  am  sure  I  never  was  so 
tired  of  an  old  dull  scoundrel  in  my  life.  What !  are  there  so 
few  inquietudes  tacked  to  this  momentary  life  of  ours,  that  we 
must  need  be  loading  ourselves  with  a  thousand  more  ?  Or,  as 
brother  Job  says,  (who,  by-the-bye,  I  think  began  to  whine  a  lit- 
tle under  his  afflictions,)  "Are  not  my  days  few?  Cease  then, 
that  I  may  take  comfort  a  little  before  I  go  whence  I  shall  not 
return,  even  to  the  land  of  darkness,  and  the  shadow  of  death." 
But  the  old  fellows  say  we  must  read  to  gain  knowledge,  and 
gain  knowledge  to  make  us  happy  and  admired.  Mere  jargon  ! 
Is  there  any  such  thing  as  happiness  in  this  world  ?  No.  And  as 
for  admiration,  I  am  sure  the  man  who  powders  most,  perfumes 
most,  embroiders  most,  and  talks  most  nonsense,  is  most  admired. 
Though  to  be  candid,  there  are  some  who  have  too  much  good 
sense  to  esteem  such  monkey-like  animals  as  these,  in  whose 
formation,  as  the  saying  is,  the  tailors  and  barbers  go  halves  with 
God  Almighty  ;  and  since  these  are  the  only  persons  whose  es- 
teem is  worth  a  wish,  I  do  not  know  but  that,  upon  the  whole, 
the  advice  of  these  old  fellows  may  be  worth  following. 

You  cannot  conceive  the  satisfaction  it  would  give  me  to 
have  a  letter  from  you.  Write  me  very  circumstantially  every- 
thing which  happened  at  the  wedding.  Was  she  there  ?  be- 
cause, if  she  was,  I  ought  to  have  been  at  the  Devil  for  not  be- 
ing there  too.  If  there  is  any  news  stirring  in  town  or  country, 
such  as  deaths,  courtships,  or  marriages,  in  the  circle  of  my  ac- 
quaintance, let  me  know  it.  Remember  me  affectionately  to 
all  the  young  ladies  of  my  acquaintance,  particularly  the  Miss 
Burwells,  and  Miss  Potters,  and  tell  them  that  though  that  heavy 
earthly  part  of  me,  my  body,  be  absent,  the  better  half  of  me, 
my  soul,  is  ever  with  them,  and  that  my  best  wishes  shall  ever 
attend  them.  Tell  Miss  Alice  Corbin  that  I  verily  believe  the 
rats  knew  I  was  to  win  a  pair  of  garters  from  her,  or  they  n^er 
would  have  been  so  cruel  as  to  carry  mine  away.  This  very 
consideration  makes  me  so  sure  of  the  bet,  that  I  shall  ask  every- 
body I  see  from  that  part  of  the  world  what  pretty  gentleman 


184  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

is  making  his  addresses  to  her.  I  would  fain  ask  the  favor  of 
Miss  Becca  Burwell  to  give  me  another  watch-paper  of  her  own 
cutting,  which  I  should  esteem  much  more,  though  it  were  a 
plain  round  one,  than  the  nicest  in  the  world  cut  by  other 
hands ;  however,  I  am  afraid  she  would  think  this  presumption, 
after  my  suffering  the  other  to  get  spoiled.  If  you  think  you 
can  excuse  me  to  her  for  this,  I  should  be  glad  if  you  would 
ask  her.  Tell  Miss  Sukey  Potter  that  I  heard,  just  before  I 
came  out  of  town,  that  she  was  offended  with  me  about  some- 
thing, what  it  is  I  do  not  know ;  but  this  I  know,  that  I  never 
was  guilty  of  the  least  disrespect  to  her  in  my  life,  either  in 
word  or  deed ;  as  far  from  it  as  it  has  been  possible  for  one  to 
be.  I  suppose  when  we  meet  next,  she  will  be  endeavoring  to 
repay  an  imaginary  affront  with  a  real  one  ;  but  she  may  save 
herself  the  trouble,  for  nothing  that  she  can  say  or  do  to  me 
shall  ever  lessen  her  in  my  esteem,  and  I  am  determined  always 
to  look  upon  her  as  the  same  honest-hearted,  good-humored, 
agreeable  lady  I  ever  did.  Tell — tell — in  short,  tell  them  all 
ten  thousand  things  more  than  either  you  or  I  can  now  or  ever 
shall  think  of  as  long  as  we  live. 

My  mind  has  been  so  taken  up  with  thinking  of  my  acquaint- 
ances, that,  till  this  moment,  I  almost  imagined  myself  in  Wii- 
liamsburg,  talking  to  you  in  our  old  unreserved  way ;  and  never 
observed,  till  I  turned  over  the  leaf,  to  what  an  immoderate  size 
I  had  swelled  my  letter;  however,  that  I  may  not  tire  your 
patience  by  further  additions,  I  will  make  but  this  one  more,  that 
I  am  sincerely  and  affectionately, 

Dear  Page,  your  friend  and  servant. 

P.  S.  I  am  now  within  an  easy  day's  ride  of  Shad  well,  whither 
I  shall  proceed  in  two  or  three  days. 


TO    JOHN    PAGE. 

SHADWKLL,  Jan.  20,  1763. 

DEAR  PAGE, — To  tell  you  the  plain  truth,  I  have  not  a  syllable  to 
write  to  you  about.  For  I  do  not  conceive  that  anything  can  happen 


CORRESPONDENCE.  185 

in  my  world  which  you  would  give  a  curse  to  know,  or  I  either. 
All  things  here  appear  to  me  to  trudge  on  in  one  and  the  same 
round :  we  rise  in  the  morning  that  we  may  eat  breakfast,  dinner 
and  supper,  and  go  to  bed  again  that  we  may  get  up  the  next 
morning  and  do  the  same :  so  that  you  never  saw  two  peas  more 
alike  than  our  yesterday  and  to-day.  Under  these  circumstances, 
what  would  you  have  me  say  ?  Would  you  that  I  should  write 
nothing  but  truth  ?  I  tell  you  I  know  nothing  that  is  true.  Or 
would  you  rather  that  I  should  write  you  a  pack  of  lies  ?  Why, 
unless  they  were  more  ingenious  than  I  am  able  to  invent,  they 
would  furnish  you  with  little  amusement.  What  can  I  do  then  ? 
nothing,  but  ask  you  the  news  in  your  world.  How  have  you 
done  since  I  saw  you  ?  How  did  Nancy  look  at  you  when  you 
danced  with  her  at  Southall's  ?  Have  you  any  glimmering  of 
hope  ?  How  does  R.  B.  do  ?  Had  1  better  stay  here  and  do  no- 
thing, or  go  down  and  do  less  ?  or,  in  other  words,  had  I  better 
stay  here  while  I  am  here,  or  go  down  that  I  may  have  the  pleas- 
ure of  sailing  up  the  river  again  in  a  full-rigged  flat  ?  Inclination 
tells  me  to  go,  receive  my  sentence,  and  be  no  longer  in  suspense  ; 
but  reason  says,  if  you  go,  and  your  attempt  proves  unsuccessful, 
you  will  be  ten  times  more  wretched  than  ever.  In  my  last  to 
you,  dated  Fail-field,  Dec.  25,  I  wrote  to  you  of  the  losses  I  had 
sustained ;  in  the  present  I  may  mention  one  more,  which  is  the 
loss  of  the  whites  of  my  eyes,  in  the  room  of  which  I  have  got 
reds,  which  gives  me  such  exquisite  pain  that  I  have  not  at- 
tempted to  read  anything  since  a  few  days  after  Jack  Walker 
went  down,  and  God  knows  when  I  shall  be  able  to  do  it.  I 
have  some  thoughts  of  going  to  Petersburg,  if  the  actors  go 
there  in  May.  If  I  do,  I  do  not  know  but  I  may  keep  on  to 
Williamsburg,  as  the  birth  night  will  be  near.  I  hear  that  Ben 
Harrison  has  been  to  Wilton :  let  me  know  his  success.  Have 
you  an  inclination  to  travel,  Page  ?  because  if  you  have,  I  shall 
be  glad  of  your  company.  For  you  must  know  that  as  soon 
as  the  Rebecca  (the  name  I  intend  to  give  the  vessel  above 
mentioned)  is  completely  finished,  I  intend  to  hoist  sail  and 
away.  I  shall  visit  particularly  England,  Holland,  France. 


186  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Spain,  Italy,  (where  I  would  buy  me  a  good  fiddle,)  and  Egypt, 
and  return  through  the  British  provinces  to  the  Northward 
home.  This  to  be  sure,  would  take  us  two  or  three  years,  and 
if  we  should  not  both  be  cured  of  love  in  that  time,  I  think  the 
devil  would  be  in  it.  After  desiring  you  to  remember  me  to 
acquaintances  below,  male  and  female,  I  subscribe  myself, 

Dear  Page,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    JOHN    PAGE. 

SHADWELL,  July  15th,  1763. 

DEAR  PAGE, — Yours  of  May  30th  came  safe  to  hand.  The  rival 
you  mentioned  I  know  not  whether  to  think  formidable  or  not,  as 
there  has  been  so  great  an  opening  for  him  during  my  absence.  I 
say  has  been,  because  I  expect  there  is  one  no  longer.  Since  you 
have  undertaken  to  act  as  my  attorney,  you  advise  me  to  go  im- 
mediately and  lay  siege  inform.  You  certainly  did  not  think, 
at  the  time  you  wrote  this,  of  that  paragraph  in  my  letter 
wherein  I  mentioned  to  you  my  resolution  of  going  to  Britain. 
And  to  begin  an  affair  of  that  kind  now,  and  carry  it  on  so  long 
a  time  in  form,  is  by  no  means  a  proper  plan.  No,  no,  Page ; 
whatever  assurances  I  may  give  her  in  private  of  my  esteem  for 
her,  or  whatever  assurances  I  may  ask  in  return  from  her,  depend 
on  it — they  must  be  kept  in  private.  Necessity  will  oblige  me  to 
proceed  in  a  method  which  is  not  generally  thought  fair  ;  that  of 
treating  with  a  ward  before  obtaining  the  approbation  of  her 
guardian.  I  say  necessity  will  oblige  me  to  it,  because  I  never 
can  bear  to  remain  in  suspense  so  long  a  time.  If  I  am  to  suc- 
ceed, the  sooner  I  know  it,  the  less  uneasiness  I  shall  have  to  go 
through.  If  I  am  to  meet  with  a  disappointment,  the  sooner  I 
know  it,  the  more  of  life  I  shall  have  to  wear  it  off;  and  if  I  do 
meet  with  one,  I  hope  in  God,  and  verily  believe,  it  will  be  the 
last.  I  assure  you,  that  I  almost  envy  you  your  present  freedom  ; 
and  if  Belinda  will  not  accept  of  my  service,  it  shall  never  be 
offered  to  another.  That  she  may,  I  pray  most  sincerely ;  but 


CORRESPONDENCE.  187 

that  she  will,  she  never  gave  me  reason  to  hope.  With  regard 
to  my  not  proceeding  in  form,  I  do  not  know  how  she  may  like 
it.  I  am  afraid  not  much.  That  her  guardians  would  not,  if 
they  should  know  of  it,  is  very  certain.  But  I  should  think  that 
if  they  were  consulted  after  I  return,  it  would  be  sufficient.  The 
greatest  inconvenience  would  be  my  not  having  the  liberty  of 
visiting  so  freely.  This  is  a  subject  worth  your  talking  over 
with  her ;  and  I  wish  you  would,  and  would  transmit  to  me  your 
whole  confab  at  length.  I  should  be  scared  to  death  at  making 
her  so  unreasonable  a  proposal  as  that  of  waiting  until  I  return 
from  Britain,  unless  she  could  first  be  prepared  for  it.  I  am  afraid 
it  will  make  my  chance  of  succeeding  considerably  worse.  But 
the  event  at  last  must  be  this,  that  if  she  consents,  I  shall  be 
happy ;  if  she  does  not,  I  must  endeavor  to  be  as  much  so  as 
possible.  I  have  thought  a  good  deal  on  your  case,  and  as  mine 
may  perhaps  be  similar,  I  must  endeavor  to  look  on  it  in  the 
same  light  in  which  I  have  often  advised  you  to  look  on  yours. 
Perfect  happiness,  I  believe,  was  never  intended  by  the  Deity  to 
be  the  lot  of  one  of  his  creatures  in  this  world ;  but  that  he  has 
very  much  put  in  our  power  the  nearness  of  our  approaches  to  it, 
is  what  I  have  steadfastly  believed. 

The  most  fortunate  of  us,  in  our  journey  through  life,  frequently 
meet  with  calamities  and  misfortunes  which  may  greatly  afflict 
us ;  and,  to  fortify  our  minds  against  the  attacks  of  these  calami- 
ties and  misfortunes,  should  be  one  of  the  principal  studies  and 
endeavors  of  our  lives.  The  only  method  of  doing  this  is  to  as- 
sume a  perfect  resignation  to  the  Divine  will,  to  consider  that 
whatever  does  happen,  must  happen  ;  and  that,  by  our  uneasiness, 
we  cannot  prevent  the  blow  before  it  does  fall,  but  we  may  add 
to  its  force  after  it  has  fallen.  These  considerations,  and  others 
such  as  these,  may  enable  us  in  some  measure  to  surmount  the 
difficulties  thrown  in  our  way ;  to  bear  up  with  a  tolerable  degree 
of  patience  under  this  burthen  of  life ;  and  to  proceed  with  a 
pious  and  unshaken  resignation,  till  we  arrive  at  our  journey's 
end,  when  we  may  deliver  up  our  trust  into  the  hands  of  him 
who  gave  it,  and  receive  such  reward  as  to  him  shall  seem  pro- 


188  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

portioned  to  our  merit.  Such,  dear  Page,  will  be  the  language  of 
the  man  who  considers  his  situation  in  this  life,  and  such  should 
be  the  language  of  every  man  who  would  wish  to  render  that 
situation  as  easy  as  the  nature  of  it  will  admit.  Few  things  will 
disturb  him  at  all :  nothing  will  disturb  him  much. 

If  this  letter  was  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  of  our  gay  ac- 
quaintance, your  correspondent  and  his  solemn  notions  \\rould 
probably  be  the  subjects  of  a  great  deal  of  mirth  and  raillery,  but 
to  you,  I  think,  I  can  venture  to  send  it.  It  is  in  effect  a  contin- 
uation of  the  many  conversations  we  have  had  on  subjects  of  this 
kind ;  and  I  heartily  wish  we  could  now  continue  these  conver- 
sations face  to  face.  The  time  will  not  be  very  long  now  before 
we  may  do  it,  as  I  expect  to  be  in  Williamsburg  by  the  first  of 
October,  if  not  sooner.  I  do  not  know  that  I  shall  have  occasion 
to  return,  if  I  can  rent  rooms  in  town  to  lodge  in ;  and  to  prevent 
the  inconvenience  of  moving  my  lodgings  for  the  future,  I  think 
to  build :  no  castle  though,  I  assure  you ;  only  a  small  house, 
which  shall  contain  a  room  for  myself  and  another  for  you,  and 
no  more,  unless  Belinda  should  think  proper  to  favor  us  with  her 
company,  in  which  case  I  will  enlarge  the  plan  as  much  as  she 
pleases.  Make  my  compliments  to  her  particularly,  as  also  to 
Sukey  Potter,  Judy  Burwell,  and  such  others  of  my  acquaintance 
as  enquire  after  me.  I  am, 

Dear  Page,  your  sincere  friend. 


TO    JOHN    PAGE. 

WILLIAMSBURG,  October  1.  1763. 

DEAR  PAGE, — In  the  most  melancholy  fit  that  ever  any  poor 
soul  was,  I  sit  down  to  write  to  you.  Last  night,  as  merry  as 
agreeable  company  and  dancing  with  Belinda  in  the  Apollo  could 
make  me,  I  never  could  have  thought  the  succeeding  sun  would 
have  seen  me  so  wretched  as  I  now  am !  I  was  prepared  to  say 
a  great  deal :  I  had  dressed  up,  in  my  own  mind,  such  thoughts  as 
occurred  to  me,  in  as  moving  a  language  as  I  knew  how,  and 


COKKESPONDENCE.  189 

expected  to  have  performed  in  a  tolerably  creditable  manner. 
*  But,  good  God !  When  I  had  an  opportunity  of  venting  them,  a 
few  broken  sentences,  uttered  in  great  disorder,  and  interrupted 
with  pauses  of  uncommon  length,  were  the  too  visible  marks  of 
my  strange  confusion !  The  whole  confab  I  will  tell  you,  word 
for  word,  if  I  can,  when  I  see  you,  which  God  send  may  be 
soon.  Affairs  at  W.  and  M.  are  in  the  greatest  confusion.  Walker, 
M'Clurg  and  Wat  Jones  are  expelled  pro  tempore,  or,  as  Horrox 
softens  it,  rusticated  for  a  month.  Lewis  Burwell,  Warner 
Lewis,  and  one  Thompson,  have  fled  to  escape  flagellation.  I 
should  have  excepted  Warner  Lewis,  who  came  off  of  his  own 
accord.  Jack  Walker  leaves  town  on  Monday.  The  court  is 
now  at  hand,  which  I  must  attend  constantly,  so  that  unless  you 
come  to  town,  there  is  little  probability  of  my  meeting  with  you 
anywhere  else.  For  God  sake  come.  I  am,  dear  Page,  your 
sincere  friend. 


TO    JOHN    PAGE. 

DEVILSBUEG,  January  19,  1764. 

The  contents  of  your  letter  have  not  a  little  alarmed  me ;  and 
really,  upon  seriously  weighing  them  with  what  has  formerly 

passed  between and  myself,  I  am  somewhat  at  a  loss 

what  to  conclude;  your  "semper  saltat,  semper  ridet,  semper 
loquitur,  semper  solicitat,"  &c.,  appear  a  little  suspicious,  but  good 
God  !  it  is  impossible !  I  told  you  our  confab  in  the  Apollo ;  but 
I  believe  I  never  told  you  that  we  had  on  another  occasion.  I 
then  opened  my  mind  more  freely,  and  more  fully.  I  mentioned 
the  necessity  of  my  going  to  England,  and  the  delays  which 
would  consequently  be  occasioned  by  that.  I  said  in  what  man- 
ner I  should  conduct  myself  till  then,  and  explained  my  reasons, 
which  appears  to  give  that  satisfaction  I  could  have  wished ;  in 
short,  I  managed  in  such  a  manner  that  I  was  tolerable  easy  my- 
self, without  doing  anything  which  could  give  u8 !•,).* ;S*  friends 
the  least  umbrage,  were  the  whole  that  passed  to  be  related  to 
them.  I  asked  no  question  which  would  admit  of  a  categorical 


190  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


answer  ;  but  I  assured  advifafi  that  such  questions  would  one  day 
be  asked  —  in  short,  were  I  to  have  another  interview  with  him, 
I  could  say  nothing  now  which  I  did  not  say  then  ;  and  were  I, 
with  a  view  of  obtaining  one,  licentiam  solidtandi  aliis,  quibus 
degit  postulare,  it  would  be  previously  necessary  to  go  the  rounds 
cum  custodibus  ;  and  after  all  this,  he  could  be  in  no  other  situa- 
tion than  he  is  at  present.  After  the  proofs  I  have  given  of  my 
sincerity,  he  can  be  under  no  apprehension  of  a  change  in  my 
sentiments  ;  and  were  I  to  do  as  my  friends  advise  me,  I  would 
give  no  better  security  than  he  has  at  present.  He  is  satisfied 
that  I  shall  make  him  an  offer,  and  if  he  intends  to  accept  of  it, 
he  will  disregard  those  made  by  others  ;  my  fate  depends  on 
c6vi\ei?(  present  resolutions,  by  them  I  must  stand  or  fall  —  if 
they  are  not  favorable  to  me,  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  say  any- 
thing to  make  them  so  which  I  have  not  said  already  ;  so  that  a 
visit  could  not  possibly  be  of  the  least  weight,  and  it  is,  I  am 
sure,  what  he  does  not  in  the  least  expect.  I  hear  you  are  court- 
ing F  -  y  B  -  1,  but  shall  not  listen  to  it  till  I  hear  it  from 
you.  When  I  was  up  the  country,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  you,  dated 
Fairneld,  Dec.  25,  1763  ;  let  me  know  if  you  have  received  such 
a  one.  As  I  suppose  you  do  not  use  your  Statutes  of  Britain,  if 
you  can  lend  them  to  me,  till  I  can  provide  myself  with  a  copy, 
it  will  infinitely  oblige  me.  Adieu,  dear  Page. 


TO    GOVERNOR    PAGE. 

DEVII.SBURG,*  January  23,  1764. 

DEAR  PAGE, — I  received  your  letter  of  Wednesday,  the  18th 
instant ;  in  that,  of  this  day,  you  mention  one  which  you  wrote 
last  Friday,  and  sent  by  the  Secretary's  boy ;  but  I  have  neither 
seen  nor  heard  of  such  a  one.  God  send  mine  of  January  19  to 
you  may  not  have  shared  the  same  fate  ;  for,  by  your  letter,  I  am 
uncertain  whether  you  have  received  it  or  not ;  you  therein  say, 
"  you  hope  to  have  received  an  answer  from  me  by  this  time," 

*  From  this  designation  of  the  ancient  metropolis,  it  would  seem  even  then  to  have 
been  no  favorite  with  him. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  191 

by  which  I  judge  it  has  miscarried ;  but  you  mention  mine  of 
December  25th,  which  put  me  in  spirits  again,  as  I  do  not  know 
how  you  should  have  got  intelligence  that  I  had  wrote  such  a 
one,  unless  you  had  seen  my  letter  of  Jan.  19,  in  which  it  was 
mentioned — yes,  there  is  one  other  way  by  which  you  might 
have  received  such  intelligence.  My  letter  of  Jan.  19  may  have 
been  opened,  and  the  person  who  did  it  may  have  been  further 
incited  by  curiosity,  to  ask  you  if  you  had  received  such  a  letter 
as  they  saw  mentioned  therein ;  but  God  send,  and  I  hope  this 
is  not  the  case.  Sukey  Potter,  to  whom  I  sent  it,  told  me  yes- 
terday she  delivered  it  to  Mr.  T.  Nelson,  the  younger,  who  had 
delivered  it  to  you — I  hope  with  his  own  hand.  I  wish  I  had 
followed  your  example,  and  wrote  it  in  Latin,  and  that  I  had 
called  my  dear  campana  in  die*  instead  of  atrtfap. 

We  must  fall  on  some  scheme  of  communicating  our  thoughts 
to  each  other,  which  shall  be  totally  unintelligible  to  every  one 
but  to  ourselves.  I  will  send  you  some  of  these  days  Shelton's 
Tachygraphical  Alphabet,  and  directions.  Jack  Walker  is  en- 
gaged to  Betsey  Moore,  and  desired  all  his  brethren  might  be 
made  acquainted  with  his  happiness.  But  I  hear  he  will  not  be 
married  this  year  or  two.  Put  campana  in  die  in  mind  of  me ; 
tell  him  I  think  as  I  always  did.  I  have  sent  my  horses  up  the 
country,  so  that  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  take  even  an  airing  on 
horseback  at  any  time.  My  paper  holds  out  no  longer,  so  must 
bid  you  adieu. 


TO    JOHN    PAGE. 

DEVILSBURG,  April,  9,  1764. 

DEAR  PAGE, — This  letter  will  be  conveyed  to  you  by  the  as- 
sistance of  our  friend  Warner  Lewis.     Poor  fellow  !  never  did 

*  The  lady  here  alluded  to  is  manifestly  the  Miss  Rebecca  Burwell  mentioned  in 
his  first  letter ;  but  what  suggested  the  quaint  designations  of  her  is  not  so  obvious. 
In  the  first  of  them,  Belinda,  translated  into  dog  Latin,  which  was  there,  as  else- 
where, among  the  facelift  of  young  collegians,  became  campana  in  die,  that  is  bell  in 
day.  In  the  second,  the  name  is  reversed,  and  becomes  adnileb,  which,  for  further 
security,  is  written  in  Greek  characters,  and  the  lady  spoken  of  in  the  masculine 
gendfer. 


192  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

I  see  one  more  sincerely  captivated  in  my  life.  He  walked  to 
the  Indian  camp  with  her  yesterday,  by  which  means  he  had  an 
opportunity  of  giving  her  two  or  three  love  squeezes  by  the 
hand  ;  and,  like  a  true  arcadian  swain,  has  been  so  enraptured 

ever  since,  that  he  is  company  for  no  one.     B y  has  at  last 

bestowed  her  hand  on  B d ;  and  whether  it  was  for  money, 

beauty,  or  principle,  will  be  so  nice  a  dispute,  that  no  one  will 
venture  to  pronounce.  Two  days  before  the  wedding  I  was  not 
a  little  surprised,  on  going  to  the  door  at  my  house,  to  see  him 
alight  from  his  horse.  He  stepped  up  to  me,  and  desired  the 
favor  of  me  to  come  to  Mr.  Yates'  at  such  a  time.  It  was  so 
unexpected,  that  for  some  time  I  could  make  no  reply  ;  at  last,  I 
said  "  yes,"  and  turned  about  and  walked  back  into  my  room.  I 
accordingly  attended,  and  to  crown  the  joke,  when  I  got  there, 
was  dubbed  a  bridesman.  There  were  many  other  curious  cir- 
cumstances too  tedious  to  mention  here.  Jack  Walker  is  ex- 
pected in  town  to-morrow.  How  does  your  pulse  beat  after 
your  trip  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  ?  What  a  high  figure  I  should 
have  cut,  had  I  gone  !  When  I  heard  who  visited  you  there,  I 
thought  I  had  met  with  the  narrowest  escape  in  the  world.  I 
wonder  how  I  should  have  behaved — I  am  sure  I  should  have 
been  at  a  great  loss.  If  your  mistress  can  spare  you  a  little  time, 
your  friends  here  would  be  very  glad  to  see  you,  particularly 
Small  and  myself,  as  everything  is  now  ready  for  taking  the 
height  of  this  place  above  the  \vater  of  the  creeks.  Fleming's 
relapse  will  justly  afford  you  great  matter  of  triumph,  after  rally- 
ing you  so  much  on  being  in  love. 

Adieu,  dear  Page. 

P.  S.  Walker  is  just  arrived — he  goes  out  of  town  on  Wednes- 
day, and  will  return  again  in  about  three  weeks. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  193 

TO    JOHN    PAGE. 

CUARLOTTESVILLE.  Feb.  21,    1770. 

DEAR  PAGE, — I  am  to  acquaint  Mrs.  Page  of  the  loss  of  my  fa- 
vorite pullet ;  the  consequence  of  which  will  readily  occur  to  her 
I  promised  also  to  give  her  some  Virginia  silk  which  I  had  ex- 
pected, and  I  begin  to  wish  my  expectation  may  not  prove  vain. 
I  fear  she  will  think  me  but  an  ungainly  acquaintance.  My  late 
loss  may  perhaps  have  reached  you  by  this  time ;  I  mean  the 
loss  of  my  mother's  house  by  fire,  and  in  it  of  every  paper  I  had 
in  the  world,  and  almost  every  book.  On  a  reasonable  estimate 
I  calculate  the  cost  of  the  books  burned  to  have  been  £200 
sterling.  Would  to  God  it  had  been  the  money,  then  had  it 
never  cost  me  a  sigh !  To  make  the  loss  more  sensible,  it  fell 
principally  on  my  books  of  Common  Law,  of  which  I  have  but 
one  left,  at  that  time  lent  out.  Of  papers  too  of  every  kind  I 
am  utterly  destitute.  All  of  these,  whether  public  or  private 
of  business  or  of  amusement,  have  perished  in  the  flames.  I 
had  made  some  progress  in  preparing  for  the  succeeding  General 
Court ;  and  having,  as  was  my  custom,  thrown  my  thoughts 
into  the  form  of  notes,  I  troubled  my  head  no  more  with  them. 
These  are  gone,  and  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision,  leave 
not  a  trace  behind.  The  records  also,  and  other  papers  which 
furnished  me  with  states  of  the  several  cases,  having  shared 
the  same  fate,  I  have  no  foundation  whereon  to  set  out  anew. 
I  have  in  vain  attempted  to  recollect  some  of  them ;  the  defect 
sometimes  of  one,  sometimes  of  more  circumstances,  rendering 
them  so  imperfect  that  I  can  make  nothing  of  them.  What  am 
I  to  do  then  in  April  ?  The  resolution  which  the  Court  has 
declared  of  admitting  no  continuances  of  causes  seemed  to  be 
unalterable  ;  yet  it  might  surely  be  urged,  that  my  case  is  too 
singular  to  admit  of  their  being  often  troubled  with  the  like 
excuse.  Should  it  be  asked,  what  are  the  misfortunes  of  an 
individual  to  a  Court  ?  The  answer  of  a  Court,  as  well  as  of  an 
individual,  if  left  to  me,  should  be  in  the  words  of  Terence, 
"  homo  sum  ;  humani  nil  a  me  alienum  puto" — but  a  truce  with 

this  disagreeable  subject. 

VOL.  i.  13 


194  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Am  I  never  more  to  have  a  letter  from  you  ?  Why  the  devil 
don't  you  write  ?  Bat  I  suppose  you  are  always  in  the  moon, 
or  some  of  the  planetary  regions.  I  mean  you  are  there  in  idea  ; 
and,  unless  you  mend,  you  shall  have  my  consent  to  be  there 
de  facto  ;  at  least,  during  the  vacations  of  the  Court  and  Assem- 
bly. If  your  spirit  is  too  elevated  to  advert  to  sublunary  sub- 
jects, depute  my  friend  Mrs.  Page  to  support  your  correspon- 
dences. Me  thinks  I  should,  with  wonderful  pleasure,  open  and 
peruse  a  letter  written  by  so  fair,  and  (what  is  better)  so  friendly 
hands.  If  thinking  much  of  you  would  entitle  me  to  the  civility 
of  a  letter,  I  assure  you  I  merit  a  very  long  one.  If  this  confla- 
gration, by  which  I  am  burned  out  of  a  home,  had  come  before 
I  had  advanced  so  far  in  preparing  another,  I  do  not  know  but 
I  might  have  cherished  some  treasonable  thoughts  of  leaving 
these  my  native  hills ;  indeed  I  should  be  much  happier  were  I 
nearer  to  Rosewell  and  Severn  hills — however,  the  gods,  I 
fancy,  were  apprehensive  that  if  we  were  placed  together,  we 
should  pull  down  the  moon,  or  play  some  such  devilish  prank 
with  their  works.  I  reflect  often  with  pleasure  on  the  philo- 
sophical evenings  I  passed  at  Rosewell  in  my  last  visits  there. 
I  was  always  fond  of  philosophy,  even  in  its  drier  forms  ;  but 
from  a  ruby  lip,  it  comes  with  charms  irresistible.  Such  a  feast 
of  sentiment  must  exhilarate  and  lengthen  life,  at  least  as  much 
as  the  feast  of  the  sensualist  shortens  it — in  a  word,  I  prize  it  so 
highly,  that,  if  you  will  at  any  time  collect  the  same  Belle  As- 
semble, on  giving  me  three  days  previous  notice,  I  shall  cer- 
tainly repair  to  my  place  as  a  member  of  it.  Should  it  not  hap- 
pen before  I  come  down,  I  will  carry  Sally  Nicholas  in  the 
green  chair  to  Newquarter,  where  your  periagua  (how  the 

should  1  spell  that  word  ?)  will  meet  us,  automaton-like,  of 

its  own  accord.  You  know  I  had  a  wagon  which  moved  itself 
— cannot  we  construct  a  boat  then  which  shall  row  itself  ?  Ami- 
cus  noster,  Fons*  quo  modo  agit,  et  quid  agit  ?  You  may  be 
all  dead  for  anything  we  can  tell  here.  I  expect  he  will  follow 
the  good  old  rule  of  driving  one  passion  out  by  letting  another 

*  Probably  Mr.  William  Fontaine,  of  Hanover  county. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  195 

in.  Clavum  clavo  pangere  was  your  advice  to  me  on  a  similar 
occasion.  I  hope  you  will  watch  his  immersion  as  narrowly  as 
if  he  were  one  of  Jupiter's  satellites ;  and  give  me  immediate 
notice,  that  I  may  prepare  a  dish  of  advice.  I  do  not  mean, 
Madam,  to  advise  him  against  it.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  become 
an  advocate  for  the  passion  ;  for  I  too  am  caelo  tactus,  Currus* 
bene  se  habet.  He  speaks,  thinks,  and  dreams  of  nothing  but 
his  young  son.  This  friend  of  ours,  Page,  in  a  very  small  house, 
with  a  table,  half  a  dozen  chairs,  and  one  or  two  servants,  is 
the  happiest  man  in  the  universe.  Every  incident  in  life  he  so 
takes  as  to  render  it  a  source  of  pleasure.  With  as  much  be- 
nevolence as  the  heart  of  man  will  hold,  but  with  an  utter  ne- 
glect of  the  costly  apparatus  of  life,  he  exhibits  to  the  world  a 
new  phenomenon  in  philosophy — the  Samian  sage  in  the  tub 
of  the  cynic.  Name  me  sometimes  homunculo  tuo,  not  forget- 
ting little  die  mcndadum.  I  am  determined  not  to  enter  on  the 
next  page,  lest  I  should  extend  this  nonsense  to  the  bottom  of 
that  also.  A  dieujevous  commas,  not  doubting  his  care  of  you 
both.  TH  :  JEFFERSON. 


TO    CHAS.  McPHERSON. 

ALBERMARLE,  IN  VIRGINIA,  Feb.  25th,  1773. 

DEAR  SIR, — Encouraged  by  the  small  acquaintance  which  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  having  contracted  with  you  during  your 
residence  in  this  country,  I  take  the  liberty  of  making  the  pres- 
ent application  to  you.  I  understood  you  were  related  to  the 
gentleman  of  your  name  (Mr.  James  McPherson),  to  whom  the 
world  is  so  much  indebted  for  the  elegant  collection,  arrange- 
ment, and  translation  of  Ossian's  poems.  These  pieces  have 
been  and  will,  I  think,  during  my  life,  continue  to  be  to  me  the 
sources  of  daily  and  exalted  pleasures.  The  tender  and  the 
sublime  emotions  of  the  mind  were  never  before  so  wrought  up 
by  the  human  hand.  I  am  not  ashamed  to  own  that  I  think 

*  By  this  term,  he  no  doubt  designated  Mr.  Dabney  Carr,  his  brother-in-law. 


196  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

this  rude  bard  of  the  North  the  greatest  poet  that  has  ever  ex- 
isted. Merely  for  the  pleasure  of  reading  his  works,  I  am  be- 
come desirous  of  learning  the  language  in  which  he  sung,  and 
of  possessing  his  songs  in  their  original  form.  Mr.  McPherson, 
I  think,  informs  us  he  is  possessed  of  the  originals.  Indeed,  a 
gentleman  has  lately  told  me  he  had  seen  them  in  print ;  but  I 
am  afraid  he  has  mistaken  a  specimen  from  Temora,  annexed  to 
some  of  the  editions  of  the  translation,  for  the  whole  works. 
If  they  are  printed,  it  will  abridge  my  request  and  your  trouble, 
to  the  sending  me  a  printed  copy ;  but  if  there  be  more  such, 
my  petition  is,  that  you  would  be  so  good  as  to  use  your  inter- 
est with  Mr.  McPherson  to  obtain  leave  to  take  a  manuscript 
copy  of  them,  and  procure  it  to  be  done.  I  would  choose  it  in 
a  fair,  round  hand,  on  fine  paper,  with  a  good  margin,  bound  in 
parchments  as  elegantly  as  possible,  lettered  on  the  back,  and 
marbled  or  gilt  on  the  edges  of  the  leaves.  I  would  not  regard 
expense  in  doing  this.  I  would  further  beg  the  favor  of  you  to 
give  me  a  catalogue  of  the  books  written  in  that  language,  and 
to  send  me  such  of  them  as  may  be  necessary  for  learning  it. 
These  will,  of  course,  include  a  grammar  and  dictionary.  The 
cost  of  these,  as  well  as  the  copy  of  Ossian,  will  be  (for  me), 
on  demand,  answered  by  Mr.  Alexander  McCaul,  sometime  of 
Virginia,  merchant,  but  now  of  Glasgow,  or  by  your  friend  Mr. 
Ninian  Minzees,  of  Richmond,  in  Virginia,  to  whose  care  the 
books  may  be  sent.  You  can,  perhaps,  tell  me  whether  we  may 
ever  hope  to  see  any  more  of  those  Celtic  pieces  published. 
Manuscript  copies  of  any  which  are  in  print,  it  would  at  any 
time  give  me  the  greatest  happiness  to  receive.  The  glow  of 
one  warm  thought  is  to  me  worth  more  than  money.  I  hear 
with  pleasure  from  your  friend  that  your  path  through  life  is 
likely  to  be  smoothed  by  success.  I  wish  the  business  and  the 
pleasures  of  your  situation  would  admit  leisure  now  and  then 
to  scribble  a  line  to  one  who  wishes  you  every  felicity,  and 
would  willingly  merit  the  appellation  of,  dear  sir, 

Your  friend  and  humble  servant. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  197 

TO    COL.  A.  CART. 

Dec.  9th,  1774. 

DEAR  SIR, — As  I  mean  to  be  a  conscientious  observer  of  the 
measures  generally  thought  requisite  for  the  preservation  of  our 
independent  rights,  so  I  think  myself  bound  to  account  to  my 
country  for  any  act  of  mine  which  might  wear  an  appearance 
of  contravening  them.  I,  therefore,  take  the  liberty  of  stating 
to  you  the  following  matter,  that  through  your  friendly  inter- 
vention, it  may  be  communicated  to  the  committee  of  your 
county.  You  may  remember  that  it  was  about  the  last  of  May 
that  the  House  of  Burgesses,  after  its  dissolution,  met  in  Ra- 
leigh, and  formed  our  first  association  against  the  future  use  of 
tea  only ;  tho'  the  proceedings  of  the  ministry  against  the  town 
of  Boston  were  then  well  known  to  us. 

I  believe  nobody  thought  at  that  time  of  extending  our  asso- 
ciation further,  to  the  total  interruption  of  our  commerce  with 
Britain ;  or,  if  it  was  proposed  by  any  (which  I  don't  recollect), 
it  was  condemned  by  the  general  sense  of  the  members  who 
formed  that  association.  Two  or  three  days,  therefore,  after 
this,  I  wrote  to  Gary  &  Co.,  of  London,  for  fourteen  pairs  of 
sash  windows,  to  be  sent  to  me  ready  made  and  glazed,  with  a 
small  parcel  of  spare  glass  to  mend  with.  This  letter  went  by 
a  ship,  which  sailed  about  the  third  of  June,  just  before  Power 
arrived  here.  I  did  not  suppose  they  would  send  them  till 
Power  should  come  in  again  in  the  spring  of  1775. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  a  few 
of  the  late  members  were  again  convened  (in  consequence  of 
fresh  advices  from  Boston),  and  then  it  was  suggested  that  a 
more  extensive  association  might  be  necessary.  A  convention 
met  for  that  purpose  the  first  of  August,  and  formed  a  new  asso- 
ciation, of  which  I  received  a  copy  about  the  llth  of  the  month. 
But  as  a  general  Congress  was  then  appointed  to  be  held  to  re- 
consider the  same  matters,  and  it  was  agreed  that  our  association 
should  be  subject  to  any  alteration  that  they  might  recommend, 
I  did  not  write  to  countermand  my  order,  thinking  I  should  have 


198  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

sufficient  time  after  the  final  determination  of  the  Congress 
should  be  known,  to  countermand  it  before  Power  should  sail 
in  the  spring.  Accordingly,  within  a  few  days  after  receiving  a 
copy  of  the  general  association,  I  wrote  to  Gary  &  Co.  not  to 
send  the  sashes  and  glass  which  I  had  ordered,  and  gave  my  letter 
to  the  care  of  a  gentleman  (Mr.  Evans)  just  then  going  down- 
ward, who  promised  to  send  it  out  speedily ;  but  three  or  four 
days  after  I  received  a  letter  from  those  gentlemen,  dated  Au- 
gust 29th,  in  which  they  inform  me  my  window  frames  and  glass 
are  ready,  but  that  it  being  necessary  to  detain  them  about  a 
month  to  harden  the  puttying,  they  were  not  sent  in  that  ship, 
but  might  be  expected  by  the  next  ship  afterwards.  From  this 
I  conclude  they  may  be  near  arriving  at  this  time,  in  which  case 
they  will  come  under  the  1st  and  10th  articles  of  the  association. 
In  order,  therefore,  that  no  proceeding  of  mine  might  give  a 
handle  for  traducing  our  measures,  I  thought  it  better  previously 
to  lay  before  your  committee,  within  whose  ward  they  will  prob- 
ably be  landed,  a  full  state  of  the  matter,  by  which  it  might  be 
seen  under  what  expectations  I  had  failed  to  give  an  earlier  coun- 
termand, and  to  show  that,  as  they  come  under  the  prohibitions  of 
the  Continental  association,  (which,  without  the  spirit  of  prophe- 
cy, could  not  have  been  foretold  when  I  ordered  them,)  so  I 
mean  they  shall  be  subject  to  its  condemnation.  To  your  com- 
mittee, therefore,  if  landed  within  their  county,  I  submit  the  dis- 
posal of  them,  which  shall  be  obeyed  as  soon  as  made  known 
to  their  and  your 

Most  humble  servant. 

Dec.  9th,  1774.     A  copy  of  this  sent  to  Col.  A.  Gary,  and  an- 
other to  Col.  B.  Harrison,  by  Mr.  Marrei. 


TO    DR.    WILLIE M    SMALL. 

May  7,  1775. 

DEAR  SIR, — Within  this  week  we  have  received  the  unhappy 
news  of  an  action  of  considerable  magnitude,  between  the  King's 


CORRESPONDENCE.  199 

troops  and  our  brethren  of  Boston,  in  which  it  is  said  five  hun- 
dred of  the  former,  with  the  Earl  of  Percy,  are  slain.  That 
such  an  action  has  occurred,  is  undoubted,  though  perhaps  the 
circumstances  may  not  have  reached  us  with  truth.  This  acci- 
d«nt  has  cut  off  our  last  hope  of  reconciliation,  and  a  phrensy 
of  revenge  seems  to  have  seized  all  ranks  of  people.  It  is  a 
lamentable  circumstance,  that  the  only  mediatory  power,  ac- 
knowledged by  both  parties,  instead  of  leading  to  a  reconcilia- 
tion his  divided  people,  should  pursue  the  incendiary  purpose 
of  still  blowing  up  the  flames,  as  we  find  him  constantly  doing, 
in  every  speech  and  public  declaration.  This  may,  perhaps,  be 
intended  to  intimidate  into  acquiescence,  but  the  effect  has  been 
most  unfortunately  otherwise.  A  little  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  and  attention  to  its  ordinary  workings,  might  have  fore- 
seen that  the  spirits  of  the  people  here  were  in  a  state,  in  which 
they  were  more  likely  to  be  provoked,  than  frightened,  by 
haughty  deportment.  And  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  irritation, 
a  proscription  of  individuals  has  been  substituted  in  the  room  of 
just  trial.  Can  it  be  believed,  that  a  grateful  people  will  suffer 
those  to  be  consigned  to  execution,  whose  sole  crime  has  been 
the  developing  and  asserting  their  rights  ?  Had  the  Parliament 
possessed  the  power  of  reflection,  they  would  have  avoided  a 
measure  as  impotent,  as  it  was  inflammatory.  When  I  saw 
Lord  Chatham's  bill,  I  entertained  high  hope  that  a  reconcilia- 
tion could  have  been  brought  about.  The  difference  between 
his  terms,  and  those  offered  by  our  Congress,  might  have  been 
accommodated,  if  entered  on,  by  both  parties,  with  a  disposi- 
tion to  accommodate.  But  the  dignity  of  Parliament,  it  seems, 
can  brook  no  opposition  to  its  power.  Strange,  that  a  set  of 
men,  who  have  made  sale  of  their  virtue  to  the  Minister,  should 
yet  talk  of  retaining  dignity  !  But  I  am  getting  into  politics, 
though  I  sat  down  only  to  ask  your  acceptance  of  the  Avine, 
and  express  my  constant  wishes  for  your  happiness. 


200  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO    JOHN    RANDOLPH,    E3Q,. 

MOXTICELLO,  August  25,  1775. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  am  sorry  the  situation  of  our  country  should 
render  it  not  eligible  to  you  to  remain  longer  in  it.  I  hope  the 
returning  wisdom  of  Great  Britain  will,  ere  long,  put  an  end  to 
this  unnatural  contest.  There  may  be  people  to  whose  tem- 
pers and  dispositions  contention  is  pleasing,  and  who,  there- 
fore, wish  a  continuance  of  confusion,  but  to  me  it  is  of  all 
states  but  one,  the  most  horrid.  My  first  wish  is  a  restoration 
of  our  just  rights ;  my  second,  a  return  of  the  happy  period, 
when,  consistently  with  duty,  I  may  withdraw  myself  totally 
from  the  public  stage,  and  pass  the  rest  of  my  days  in  domestic 
ease  and  tranquillity,  banishing  every  desire  of  ever  hearing 
what  passes  in  the  world.  Perhaps  (for  the  latter  adds  con- 
siderably to  the  warmth  of  the  former  wish),  looking  with 
fondness  towards  a  reconciliation  with  Great  Britain,  I  cannot 
help  hoping  you  may  be  able  to  contribute  towards  expediting 
this  good  work.  I  think  it  must  be  evident  to  yourself,  that 
the  Ministry  have  been  deceived  by  their  officers  on  this  side 
of  the  water,  who  (for  what  purpose  I  cannot  tell)  have  con- 
stantly represented  the  American  opposition  as  that  of  a  small 
faction,  in  which  the  body  of  the  people  took  little  part.  This, 
you  can  inform  them,  of  your  own  knowledge,  is  untrue.  They 
have  taken  it  into  their  heads,  too,  that  we  are  cowards,  and 
shall  surrender  at  discretion  to  an  armed  force.  The  past  and 
future  operations  of  the  war  must  confirm  or  undeceive  them 
on  that  head.  I  wish  they  were  thoroughly  and  minutely  ac- 
quainted with  every  circumstance  relative  to  America,  as  it  ex- 
ists in  truth.  I  am  persuaded,  this  would  go  far  towards  dis- 
posing them  to  reconciliation.  Even  those  in  Parliament  who 
are  called  friends  to  America,  seem  to  know  nothing  of  our  real 
determinations.  I  observe,  they  pronounced  in  the  last  Parlia- 
ment, that  the  Congress  of  1774  did  not  mean  to  insist  rigor- 
ously on  the  terms  they  held  out,  but  kept  something  in 
reserve,  to  give  up  ;  and,  in  fact,  that  they  would  give  up 


CORRESPONDENCE.  201 

everything  but  the  article  of  taxation.  Now,  the  truth  is  far 
from  this,  as  I  can  affirm,  and  put  my  honor  to  the  assertion. 
Their  continuance  in  this  error  may,  perhaps,  produce  very  ill 
consequences.  The  Congress  stated  the  lowest  terms  they 
thought  possible  to  be  accepted,  in  order  to  convince  the  world 
they  were  not  unreasonable.  They  gave  up  the  monopoly  and 
regulation  of  trade,  and  all  acts  of  Parliament  prior  to  1764, 
leaving  to  British  generosity  to  render  these,  at  some  future 
time,  as  easy  to  America  as  the  interest  of  Britain  would  admit. 
But  this  was  before  blood  was  spilt.  I  cannot  affirm,  but  have 
reason  to  think,  these  terms  would  not  now  be  accepted.  I  wish 
no  false  sense  of  honor,  no  ignorance  of  our  real  intentions,  no 
vain  hope  that  partial  concessions  of  right  will  be  accepted,  may 
induce  the  Ministry  to  trifle  with  accommodation,  till  it  shall 
be  out  of  their  power  ever  to  accommodate.  If,  indeed,  Great 
Britain,  disjoined  from  her  colonies,  be  a  match  for  the  most  po- 
tent nations  of  Europe,  with  the  colonies  thrown  into  their  scale, 
they  may  go  on  securely.  But  if  they  are  not  assured  of  this, 
it  would  be  certainly  unwise,  by  trying  the  event  of  another 
campaign,  to  risk  our  accepting  a  foreign  aid,  which,  perhaps, 
may  not  be  obtainable,  but  on  condition  of  everlasting  avulsion 
from  Great  Britain.  This  would  be  thought  a  hard  condition, 
to  those  who  still  wish  for  re-union  with  their  parent  country. 
1  am  sincerely  one  of  those,  and  would  rather  be  in  dependence 
on  Great  Britain,  properly  limited,  than  on  any  nation  on  earth, 
or  than  on  no  nation.  But  I  am  one  of  those,  too,  who,  rather 
than  submit  to  the  rights  of  legislating  for  us,  assumed  by  the 
British  Parliament,  and  which  late  experience  has  shown  they 
will  so  cruelly  exercise,  would  lend  my  hand  to  sink  the  whole 
Island  in  the  ocean. 

If  undeceiving  the  Minister,  as  to  matters  of  fact,  may  change 
his  disposition,  it  will,  perhaps,  be  in  your  power,  by  assisting  to 
do  this,  to  render  service  to  the  whole  empire,  at  the  most  criti- 
cal time,  certainly,  that  it  has  ever  seen.  Whether  Britain  shall 
continue  the  head  of  the  greatest  empire  on  earth,  or  shall  re- 
turn to  her  original  station  in  the  political  scale  of  Europe,  de- 


202  JEFFEKSON  S    WOEKS. 

pends,  perhaps,  on  the  resolutions  of  the  succeeding  winter. 
God  send  they  may  be  wise  and  salutary  for  us  all.  I  shall  he 
glad  to  hear  from  you  as  often  as  you  may  be  disposed  to  think 
of  things  here.  You  may  be  at  liberty,  I  expect,  to  communi- 
cate some  things,  consistently  with  your  honor,  and  the  duties 
you  will  owe  to  a  protecting  nation.  Such  a  communication 
among  individuals,  may  be  mutually  beneficial  to  the  contend- 
ing parties.  On  this  or  any  future  occasion,  if  I  affirm  to  you 
any  facts,  your  knowledge  of  me  will  enable  you  to  decide  on 
their  credibility  ;  if  I  hazard  opinions  on  the  dispositions  of  men 
or  other  speculative  points,  you  can  only  know  they  are  my 
opinions.  My  best  wishes  for  your  felicity,  attend  you,  wherever 
you  go,  and  believe  me  to  be  assuredly, 
Your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    JOHN    RANDOLPH,    ESQ.. 

PHILADELPHIA,  November  29,  1775. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  am  to  give  you  the  melancholy  intelligence  of 
the  death  of  our  most  worthy  Speaker,  which  happened  here  on 
the  22d  of  the  last  month.  He  was  struck  with  an  apoplexy, 
and  expired  within  five  hours. 

I  have  it  in  my  power  to  acquaint  you,  that  the  success  of  our 
arms  has  corresponded  with  the  justice  of  our  cause.  Chambly 
and  St.  John's  were  taken  some  weeks  ago,  and  in  them  the 
whole  regular  army  in  Canada,  except  about  forty  or  fifty  men. 
This  day,  certain  intelligence  has  reached  us,  that  our  General, 
Montgomery,  is  received  into  Montreal ;  and  we  expect,  every 
hour,  to  be  informed  that  Quebec  has  opened  its  arms  to  Colonel 
Arnold,  who,  with  eleven  hundred  men,  was  sent  from  Boston 
up  the  Kennebec,  and  down  the  Chaudiore  river  to  that  place. 
He  expected  to  be  there  early  this  month.  Montreal  acceded 
to  us  on  the  13th,  and  Carlton  set  out,  with  the  shattered  re- 
mains of  his  little  army,  for  duebec,  where  we  hope  he  will  be 
taken  up  by  Arnold.  In  a  short  time,  we  have  reason  to  hope, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  203 

the  delegates  of  Canada  will  join  us  in  Congress,  and  complete 
the  American  union,  as  far  as  we  wish  to  have  it  completed. 
We  hear  that  one  of  the  British  transports  has  arrived  at  Bos- 
ton ;  the  rest  are  heating  off  the  coast,  in  very  had  weather. 
You  will  have  heard,  before  this  reaches  you,  that  Lord  Dun- 
more  has  commenced  hostilities  in  Virginia.  That  people  bore 
with  everything,  till  he  attempted  to  burn  the  town  of  Hamp- 
ton. They  opposed  and  repelled  him,  with  considerable  loss  on 
his  side,  and  none  on  ours.  It  has  raised  our  countrymen  into 
a  perfect  phrensy.  It  is  an  immense  misfortune,  to  the  whole 
empire,  to  have  a  King  of  such  a  disposition  at  such  a  time. 
We  are  told,  and  everything  proves  it  true,  that  he  is  the  bit- 
terest enemy  we  have.  His  Minister  is  able,  arid  that  satisfies 
me  that  ignorance  or  wickedness,  somewhere,  controls  him.  In 
an  earlier  part  of  this  contest,  our  petitions  told  him,  that  from 
our  King  there  was  but  one  appeal.  The  admonition  was  de- 
spised, and  that  appeal  forced  on  us.  To  undo  his  empire,  he 
has  but  one  truth  more  to  learn  ;  that,  after  colonies  have  drawn 
the  sword,  there  is  but  one  step  more  they  can  take.  That  step 
is  now  pressed  upon  us,  by  the  measures  adopted,  as  if  they 
were  afraid  we  would  not  take  it.  Believe  me,  dear  Sir,  there 
is  not  in  the  British  empire  a  man  who  more  cordially  loves  a 
union  with  Great  Britain,  than  I  do.  But  by  the  God  that  made 
me,  I  will  cease  to  exist  before  I  yield  to  a  connection  on  such 
terms  as  the  British  Parliament  propose  ;  and  in  this,  I  think  I 
speak  the  sentiments  of  America.  We  want  neither  induce- 
ment nor  power,  to  declare  and  assert  a  separation.  It  is  will, 
alone,  which  is  wanting,  and  that  is  growing  apace  under  the 
fostering  hand  of  our  King.  One  bloody  campaign  will  prob- 
ably decide,  everlastingly,  our  future  course  ;  and  I  am  sorry  to 
find  a  bloody  campaign  is  decided  on.  If  our  winds  and  waters 
should  not  combine  to  rescue  their  shores  from  slavery,  and 
General  Howe's  reinforcements  should  arrive  in  safety,  we  have 
hopes  he  will  be  inspirited  to  come  out  of  Boston  and  take  an- 
other drubbing ;  and  we  must  drub  him  soundly,  before  the 
sceptred  tyrant  will  know  we  are  not  mere  brutes,  to  crouch 


204  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

under  his  hand,  and  kiss  the  rod  with  which  he  designs  to 
scourge  us. 

Yours,  &c. 


TO    RICHARD    HENRY    LEE. 

PHILADELPHIA,  July  8,  1776. 

DEAR  SIR, — For  news,  I  refer  you  to  your  brother,  who  writes 
on  that  head.  I  enclose  you  a  copy  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, as  agreed  to  by  the  House,  and  also  as  originally 
framed.  You  will  judge  whether  it  is  the  better  or  worse  for 
the  critics.  I  shall  return  to  Virginia  after  the  llth  of  August. 
I  wish  my  successor  may  be  certain  to  come  before  that  time  ; 
in  that  case  I  shall  hope  to  see  you,  and  not  Wythe,  in  Conven- 
tion, that  the  business  of  Government,  which  is  of  everlasting 
concern,  may  receive  your  aid. 

Adieu,  and  believe  me  to  be  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO  DR.  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN,  PARIS. 

VIRGINIA,  August  13,  1777. 

HONORABLE  SIR, — I  forbear  to  write  you  news,  as  the  time  of 
Mr.  Shore's  departure  being  uncertain,  it  might  be  old  before  you 
receive  it,  and  he  can,  in  person,  possess  you  of  all  we  have. 
With  respect  to  the  State  of  Virginia  in  particular,  the  people 
seem  to  have  laid  aside  the  monarchical,  and  taken  up  the  repub- 
lican government,  with  as  much  ease  as  would  have  attended 
their  throwing  off  an  old,  and  putting  on  a  new  suit  of  clothes. 
Not  D  single  throe  has  attended  this  important  transformation.  A 
half-dozen  aristocratical  gentlemen,  agonizing  under  the  loss  of 
pre-eminence,  have  sometimes  ventured  their  sarcasms  on  our 
political  metamorphosis.  They  have  been  thought  fitter  objects 


CORRESPONDENCE.  205 

of  pity,  than  of  punishment.  We  are,  at  present,  in  the  com- 
plete and  quiet  exercise  of  well-organized  government,  save  only 
that  our  courts  of  justice  do  not  open  till  the  fall.  QUhink  nothing 
can  bring  the  security  of  our  continent  and  its  cause  into  danger, 
if  we  can  support  the  credit  of  our  paper.  To  do  that,  I  appre- 
hend, one  of  two  steps  must  be  taken.  Either  to  procure  free 
trade  by  alliance  with  some  naval  power  able  to  protect  it ;  or, 
if  we  find  there  is  no  prospect  of  that,  to  shut  our  ports  totally, 
to  all  the  world,  and  turn  our  colonies  into  manufactories.  The 
former  would  be  most  eligible,  because  most  conformable  to  the 
habits  and  wishes  of  our  people.  Were  the  British  Court  to  re- 
turn to  their  senses  in  time  to  seize  the  little  advantage  which 
still  remains  within  their  reach,  from  this  quarter,  I  judge,  that, 
on  acknowledging  our  absolute  independence  and  sovereignty,  a 
commercial  treaty  beneficial  to  them,  and  perhaps  even  a  league 
of  mutual  offence  and  defence,  might,  not  seeing  the  expense  or 
consequences  of  such  a  measure,  be  approved  by  our  people,  if 
nothing,  in  the  mean  time,  done  on  your  part,  should  prevent  it. 
But  they  will  continue  to  grasp  at  their  desperate  sovereignty,  till 
every  benefit  short  of  that  is  forever  out  of  their  reach 71  I  wish 
my  domestic  situation  had  rendered  it  possible  for  me  to  join  you 
in  the  very  honorable  charge  confided  to  you.  Residence  in  a 
polite  Court,  society  of  literati  of  the  first  order,  a  just  cause  and 
an  approving  God,  will  add  length  to  a  life  for  which  all  men 
pray,  and  none  more  than 

Your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant. 


TO   JOHN   ADAMS. 

ALBER:JARLE,  VIRGINIA,  Aug.  21,  1777. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  of  May  26th  came  safely  to  hand.  I 
wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  suggest  any  remedy  for  the  evil 
you  complain  of ;  though,  did  any  occur,  I  should  propose  it  to 
you  with  great  diffidence,  after  knowing  you  had  thought  on 


206  JEFFERSON'S   WORKS. 

the  subject  yourself.  There  is  indeed  a  fact  which  may  not 
have  come  to  your  knowledge,  out  of  which,  perhaps,  some 
little  good  may  be  drawn.  The  borrowing  money  in  Europe,  or 
obtaining  credit  there  for  necessaries,  has  already  probably  been 
essayed,  and  it  is  supposed  with  some  degree  of  success.  But  I 
expect  your  applications  have  as  yet  been  made  only  to  France, 
Holland,  or  such  other  States  as  are  of  principal  note.  There 
is,  however,  a  small  power  well  disposed  to  our  cause,  and,  as  I 
am  informed,  possessed  of  abilities  to  assist  us  in  this  way.  I 
speak  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany.  The  little  States  of 
Italy,  you  know,  have  had  long  peace,  and  show  no  disposition 
to  interrupt  that  peace  shortly.  The  Grand  Duke,  being  some- 
what avaricious  in  his  nature,  has  availed  himself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity of  collecting  and  hoarding  what  money  he  has  been  able 
to  gather.  I  am  informed  from  good  authority  (an  officer  who 
was  concerned  in  the  business  of  his  treasury)  that  about  three 
years  ago  he  had  ten  millions  of  crowns  lying  dead  in  his  coffers. 
Of  this,  it  is  thought  possible  as  much  might  be  borrowed  as 
would  amount  to  a  million  of  pounds  lawful  money.  At  any 
rate,  the  attempt  might  be  worth  making.  Perhaps  an  applica- 
tion from  Dr.  Franklin,  who  has  some  acquaintance  in  that  court, 
might  be  sufficient;  or  as  it  might  be  prudent  to  sound  well -be- 
fore the  application,  in  order  to  prevent  the  discredit  of  a  rebuff, 
perhaps  Congress  would  think  it  worth  while  to  send  a  special 
agent  there  to  negotiate  the  matter.  I  think  we  have  a  gentle- 
man here,  who  would  do  it  with  dexterity  and  fidelity.  He  is  a 
native  of  that  Duchy,  well  connected  there,  conversant  in  courts, 
of  great  understanding  and  equal  zeal  in  our  cause.  He  came 
over  not  long  since  to  introduce  the  cultivation  of  vines,  olives, 
&c.,  among  us.  Should  you  think  the  matter  worth  a  further 
thought,  either  of  the  Cols.  Lee's,  to  whom  he  is  known,  can 
acquaint  you  more  fully  of  his  character.  If  the  money  can  be 
obtained  in  specie,  it  may  be  applied  to  reduce  the  quantity  of 
circulating  paper,  and  be  so  managed  as  to  help  the  credit  of 
that  which  will  remain  in  circulation.  If  credit  alone  can  be 
obtained  for  the  manufactures  of  the  country,  it  will  still  help  us 


CORRESPONDENCE.  207 

to  clothe  our  armies,  or  to  increase  at  market  the  necessaries  our 
people  want. 

What  upon  earth  can  Howe  mean  by  the  manoeuvre  he  is  now 
practicing  ?  There  seems  to  me  no  object  in  this  country  which 
can  be  either  of  utility  or  reputation  to  his  cause.  I  hope  it  will 
prove  of  a  piece  with  all  the  other  follies  they  have  committed. 
The  forming  a  junction  with  the  northern  army  up  the  Hudson 
river,  or  taking  possession  of  Philadelphia,  might  have  been  a 
feather  in  his  cap,  and  given  them  a  little  reputation  in  Europe — 
the  former  as  being  the  design  with  which  they  came,  the  latter 
as  being  a  place  of  the  first  reputation  abroad,  and  the  residence 
of  Congress.  Here  he  may  destroy  the  little  hamlet  of  Wil- 
liamsburg,  steal  a  few  slaves,  and  lose  half  his  army  among 
the  fens  and  marshes  of  our  lower  country,  or  by  the  heat  of  the 
climate. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  yours,  &c. 


TO  .* 

WlLLIAMSBURG,  VlRGIMA,  June  8th,   1778. 

Sm, — Your  letter  of  September  15th,  1777,  from  Paris,  comes 
safe  to  hand.  We  have  not,  however,  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
Mr.  De  Crenis,  the  bearer  of  it,  in  this  country,  as  he  joined  the 
army  in  Pennsylvania  as  soon  as  he  arrived. 

I  should  have  taken  particular  pleasure  in  serving  him  on  your 
recommendation.  From  the  kind  anxiety  expressed  in  your 
letter,  as  well  as  from  other  sources  of  information,  we  discover 
that  our  enemies  have  filled  Europe  with  Thrasonic  accounts  of 
victories  they  had  never  won  and  conquests  they  were  fated 
never  to  make.  While  these  accounts  alarmed  our  friends  in 
Europe,  they  afforded  us  diversions.  We  have  long  been  out  of 
all  fear  for  the  event  of  the  war.  I  enclose  you  a  list  of  the 
killed,  wounded,  and  captives  of  the  enemy  from  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities  at  Lexington,  in  April,  1775,  until  November, 

*  [This  letter  has  no  address.] 


208  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

1777,  since  which  time  there  has  been  no  event  of  any  conse- 
quence. This  is  the  best  history  of  the  war  which  can  be 
brought  within  the  compass  of  a  letter.  I  believe  the  account  to 
be  near  the  truth,  though  it  is  difficult  to  get  at  the  numbers  lost 
by  an  enemy  with  absolute  precision.  Many  of  the  articles  have 
been  communicated  to  us  from  England  as  taken  from  the  official 
returns  made  by  their  General.  I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to 
send  you  as  just  an  account  of  our  loss.  But  this  cannot  be  done 
without  an  application  to  the  war  office,  which,  being  in  another 
county,  is  at  this  time  out  of  my  reach.  I  think  that  upon  the 
whole  it  has  been  about  one-half  the  number  lost  by  them ;  in 
some  instances  more,  but  in  others  less.  This  difference  is  as- 
cribed to  our  superiority  in  taking  aim  when  we  fire ;  every 
soldier  in  our  army  having  been  intimate  with  his  gun  from  his 
infancy.  If  there  could  have  been  a  doubt  before  as  to  the  event 
of  the  war,  it  is  now  totally  removed  by  the  interposition  of 
France,  and  the  generous  alliance  she  has  entered  into  with  us. 
Though  much  of  my  time  is  employed  in  the  councils  of  Amer- 
ica, I  have  yet  a  little  leisure  to  indulge  my  fondness  for  philo- 
sophical studies. 

I  could  wish  to  correspond  with  you  on  subjects  of  that  kind. 
It  might  not  be  unacceptable  to  you  to  be  informed,  for  instance, 
of  the  true  power  of  our  climate,  discoverable  from  the  thermom- 
eter, from  the  force  and  direction  of  the  winds,  the  quantity  of 
rain,  the  plants  which  grow  without  shelter  in  winter,  &c.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  should  be  much  pleased  with  cotemporary 
observations  on  the  same  particulars  in  your  country,  which  will 
give  us  a  comparative  view  of  the  two  climates.  Farenheit's 
thermometer  is  the  only  one  in  use  with  us.  I  make  my  daily 
observations  as  early  as  possible  in  the  morning,  and  again  about 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  generally  showing  the  maxima  of 
cold  and  heat  in  the  course  of  24  hours.  I  wish  I  could  gratify 
your  Botanical  taste,  but  I  am  acquainted  with  nothing  more 
than  the  first  principles  of  that  science ;  yet  myself  and  my 
friends  may  furnish  you  with  any  Botanical  subjects  which  this 
country  affords,  and  are  not  to  be  had  with  you,  and  I  shall  take 


CORRESPONDENCE.  209 

pleasure  in  procuring  them  when  pointed  out  by  you.  The 
greatest  difficulty  will  be  the  means  of  conveyance  during  the 
continuance  of  the  war. 

If  there  is  a  gratification,  which  I  envy  any  people  in  this  world, 
it  is  to  your  country  its  music.  This  is  the  favorite  passion  of 
my  soul,  and  fortune  has  cast  my  lot  in  a  country  where  it  is  in  a 
state  of  deplorable  barbarism.  From  the  line  of  life  in  which  we 
conjecture  you  to  be,  I  have  for  some  time  lost  the  hope  of  seeing 
you  here.  Should  the  event  prove  so,  I  shall  ask  your  assistance 
in  procuring  a  substitute,  who  may  be  a  proficient  in  singing,  &c., 
on  the  Harpsichord.  I  should  be  contented  to  receive  such  an  one 
two  or  three  years  hence  ;  when  it  is  hoped  he  may  come  more 
safely  and  find  here  a  greater  plenty  of  those  useful  things  which 
commerce  alone  can  furnish. 

The  bounds  of  an  American  fortune  will  not  admit  the  indul- 
gence of  a  domestic  band  of  musicians,  yet  I  have  thought  that 
a  passion  for  music  might  be  reconciled  with  that  economy  which 
we  are  obliged  to  observe.  I  retain  among  my  domestic  servants 
a  gardener,  a  weaver,  a  cabinet-maker,  and  a  stone-cntter,  to  which 
I  would  add  a  vigneron.  In  a  country  where,  like  yours,  music 
is  cultivated  and  practiced  by  every  class  of  men,  I  suppose  there 
might  be  found  persons  of  these  trades  who  could  perform  on  the 
French  horn,  clarinet,  or  hautboy,  and  bassoon,  so  that  one  might 
have  a  band  of  two  French  horns,  two  clarinets,  two  hautboys, 
and  a  bassoon,  without  enlarging  their  domestic  expenses.  A 
certainty  of  employment  for  a  half  dozen  years,  and  at  the  end 
of  that  time,  to  find  them,  if  they  chose,  a  conveyance  to  their 
own  country,  might  induce  them  to  come  here  on  reasonable 
wages.  Without  meaning  to  give  you  trouble,  perhaps  it  might 
be  practicable  for  you,  in  your  ordinary  intercourse  with  your 
people,  to  find  out  such  men  disposed  to  come  to  America.  So- 
briety and  good  nature  would  be  desirable  parts  of  their  characters. 
If  you  think  such  a  plan  practicable,  and  will  be  so  kind  as  to 
inform  me  what  will  be  necessary  to  be  done  on  my  part,  I  will 
take  care  that  it  shall  be  clone.  The  necessary  expenses,  when 
informed  of  them,  I  can  remit  before  they  are  wanting,  to  any 

VOL.  i.  14 


210  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

port  in  France,  with  which  country  alone  we  have  safe  correspon- 
lencc;     I  am,  Sir,  with  much  esteem,  your  humble  servant 


TO    DAVID    RITTENHOUSE. 

MONTICELLO  IN  At-BEMARLE,    V~A.,  JlILY  19,   1778. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  sincerely  congratulate  you  on  the  recovery  of 
Philadelphia,  and  wish  it  may  be  found  uninjured  by  the  enemy. 
How  far  the  interests  of  literature  may  have  suffered  by  the  in- 
jury, or  removal  of  the  Orrery,  (as  it  is  miscalled,)  the  public 
libraries,  your  papers  and  implements,  are  doubts  which  still  ex- 
cite anxiety.  We  were  much  disappointed  in  Virginia  generally, 
on  the  day  of  the  great  eclipse,  which  proved  to  be  cloudy. 

In  Williamsburg,  where  it  was  total,  I  understood  only  the 
beginning  was  seen.  At  this  place,  which  is  lat.  38  8',  and 
longitude  west  from  Williamsburg,  about  1  45',  as  is  conjectured, 
11  digits  only  were  supposed  to  be  covered.  It  was  not  seen  at 
all  until  the  moon  had  advanced  nearly  one-third  over  the  sun's 
disc.  Afterwards  it  was  seen  at  intervals  through  the  whole. 
The  egress  particularly  was  visible.  It  proved,  however,  of  little 
use  to  me,  for  want  of  a  time  piece  that  could  be  depended  on, 
which  circumstance,  together  with  the  subsequent  restoration  of 
Philadelphia  to  you,  has  induced  me  to  trouble  you  with  this  letter, 
to  remind  you  of  your  kind  promise  of  making  me  an  accurate 
clock,  which,  being  intended  for  astronomical  purposes  only,  I 
would  have  divested  of  all  apparatus  for  striking,  or  for  any 
other  purpose,  which,  by  increasing  its  complication,  might  dis- 
turb its  accuracy.  A  companion  to  it  for  keeping  seconds,  and 
which  might  be  moved  easily,  would  greatly  add  to  its  value. 
The  Theodolite,  for  which  I  also  spoke  to  you,  I  can  now  dis- 
pense with,  having  since  purchased  a  most  excellent  one. 


TO    JOHN    PAGE. 

WIU.IAMSBURG,  January  22,  1779. 

DEAR  PAGE, — I  received  your  letter  by  Mr.  Jamieson.     It  had 
given  me  much  pain,  that  the  zeal  of  our  respective  friends  should 


CORRESPONDENCE.  211 

ever  have  placed  you  and  me  in  the  situation  of  competitors. .  I 
was  comforted,  however,  with  the  reflection,  that  it  was  their 
competition,  not  ours,  and  that  the  difference  of  the  numbers 
which  decided  between  us,  was  too  insignificant  to  give  you  a 
pain,  or  me  a  pleasure,  had  our  dispositions  towards  each  other 
been  such  as  to  admit  those  sensations.  I  know  you  too  well  to 
need  an  apology  for  anything  you  do,  and  hope  you  will  forever 
be  assured  of  this ;  and  as  to  the  constructions  of  the  world,  they 
would  only  have  added  one  to  the  many  sins  for  which  they 
are  to  go  to  the  devil.  As  this  is  the  first,  I  hope  it  will  be  the 
last,  instance  of  ceremony  between  us.  A  desire  to  see  my 
family,  which  is  in  Charles  City,  carries  me  thither  to-morrow, 
and  I  shall  not  return  till  Monday.  Be  pleased  to  present  my 
compliments  to  Mrs.  Page,  and  add  this  to  the  assurances  I  have 
ever  given  you,  that  I  am,  dear  Page,  your  affectionate  friend. 


TO    GEORGE    WTTHE. 

FOREST,  March  1,  1*779. 

DEAR  SIR, — Since  I  left  you,  I  have  reflected  on  the  bill 
regulating  the  practising  of  attornies,  and  of  our  omitting  to 
continue  the  practitioners  at  the  County  and  General  Courts 
separate.  I  think  the  bar  of  the  General  Court  a  proper  and 
excellent  nursery  for  future  judges,  if  it  be  so  regulated  that 
science  may  be  encouraged,  and  may  live  there.  But  this  can 
never  be  if  an  inundation  of  insects  is  permitted  to  come  from 
the  county  courts,  and  consume  the  harvest.  These  people, 
traversing  the  counties,  seeing  the  clients  frequently  at  their 
own  courts,  or,  perhaps,  at  their  own  houses,  must  of  necessity 
pick  up  all  the  business.  The  convenience  of  frequently  seeing 
their  counsel,  without  going  from  home,  cannot  be  withstood 
by  the  country  people.  Men  of  science,  then,  if  there  were  to 
be  any,  would  only  be  employed  as  auxiliary  counsel  in  diffi- 
cult cases.  But  can  they  live  by  that  ?  Certainly  not.  The 
present  members  of  that  kind,  therefore,  must  turn  marauders  in 
the  county  courts,  and,  in  future,  none  will  have  leisure  to  ac- 
quire science.  I  should  therefore  be  for  excluding  the  county 


212  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

court  attornies ;  or  rather,  for  taking  the  general  court  lawyers 
from  the  incessant  drudgery  of  the  county  courts  and  confining 
them  to  their  studies,  that  they  may  qualify  themselves  as  well 
to  support  their  clients,  as  to  become  worthy  successors  to  the 
bench.  I  hope  to  see  the  time  when  the  election  of  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Courts  shall  be  restrained  to  the  bars  of  the  Gen- 
eral Court  and  High  Court  of  Chancery ;  for  when  I  speak  of 
the  former  above,  I  mean  to  include  the  latter.  I  should,  even 
in  our  present  bill,  have  no  objection  to  inserting  such  a  restric- 
tion to  take  place  seven  or  fourteen  years  hence.  Adieu. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    PATRICK    HENRY. 

ALBEMARLK,  March  27,  1779. 

SIR, — A  report  prevailing  here,  that  in  consequence  of  some 
powers  from  Congress,  the  Governor  and  Council  have  it  in  con- 
templation to  remove  the  Convention  troops,*  either  wholly  or  in 
part,  from  their  present  situation,  I  take  the  liberty  of  troubling 
you  with  some  observations  on  that  subject.  The  reputation  and 
interest  of  our  country,  in  general,  may  be  affected  by  such  a 
measure  :  it  would,  therefore,  hardly  be  deemed  an  indecent  lib- 
erty in  the  most  private  citizen,  to  offer  his  thoughts  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Executive.  The  locality  of  my  situation,  par- 
ticularly in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  barracks,  and  the 
public  relation  in  which  I  stand  to  the  people  among  whom  they 
are  situated,  together  with  a  confidence  which  a  personal  knowl- 
edge of  the  members  of  the  Executive  gives  me,  that  they  will 
be  glad  of  information  from  any  quarter,  on  a  subject  interesting 
to  the  public,  induce  me  to  hope  that  they  will  acquit  me  of  im- 
propriety in  the  present  representation. 

By  an  article  in  the  Convention  of  Saratoga,  it  is  stipulated, 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  that  the  officers  shall  not  be 
separated  from  their  men.  I  suppose  the  term  officers,  includes 

[*  The  troops  under  Burgoyne,  captured  at  Saratoga.] 


CORRESPONDENCE.  213 

general  as  well  as  regimental  officers.  As  there  are  general  offi- 
cers who  command  all  the  troops,  no  part  of  them  can  be  sepa- 
rated from  these  officers  without  a  violation  of  the  article  :  they 
cannot,  of  course,  be  separated  from  one  another,  unless  the  same 
general  officer  could  be  in  different  places  at  the  same  time.  It 
is  true,  the  article  adds  the  words,  "  as  far  as  circumstances  will 
admit."  This  was  a  necessary  qualification ;  because,  in  no 
place  in  America,  I  suppose,  could  there  have  been  found  quar- 
ters for  both  officers  and  men  together  ;  those  for  the  officers  to 
be  according  to  their  rank.  So  far,  then,  as  the  circumstances 
of  the  place  where  they  should  be  quartered,  should  render  a 
separation  necessary,  in  order  to  procure  quarters  for  the  officers, 
according  to  their  rank,  the  article  admits  that  separation.  And 
these  are  the  circumstances  which  must  have  been  under  the 
contemplation  of  the  parties  ;  both  of  whom,  and  all  the  world 
beside  (who  are  ultimate  judges  in  the  case),  would  still  under- 
stand that  they  were  to  be  as  near  in  the  environs  of  the  camp, 
as  convenient  quarters  could  be  procured  ;  and  not  that  the  qual- 
ification of  the  article  destroyed  the  article  itself,  and  laid  it 
wholly  at  our  discretion.  Congress,  indeed,  have  admitted  of 
this  separation  ;  but  are  they  so  far  lords  of  right  and  wrong  as 
that  our  consciences  may  be  quiet  with  their  dispensation  ?  Or 
is  the  case  amended  by  saying  they  leave  it  optional  in  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Council  to  separate  the  troops  or  not  ?  At  the  same 
time  that  it  exculpates  not  them,  it  is  drawing  the  Governor  and 
Council  into  a  participation  in  the  breach  of  faith.  If  indeed  it 
is  only  proposed,  that  a  separation  of  the  troops  shall  be  referred 
to  the  consent  of  their  officers ;  that  is  a  very  different  matter. 
Having  carefully  avoided  conversation  with  them  on  public  sub- 
jects, I  cannot  say,  of  my  own  knowledge,  how  they  would  relish 
such  a  proposition.  I  have  heard  from  others,  that  they  will 
choose  to  undergo  anything  together,  rather  than  to  be  separated, 
and  that  they  will  remonstrate  against  it  in  the  strongest  terms. 
The  Executive,  therefore,  if  voluntary  agents  in  this  measure, 
must  be  drawn  into  a  paper  war  with  them,  the  more  disagree- 
able, as  it  seems  that  faith  and  reason  will  be  on  the  other  side. 


214  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

As  an  American,  I  cannot  help  feeling  a  thorough  mortification, 
that  our  Congress  should  have  permitted  an  infraction  of  our  pub- 
lic honor ;  as  a  citizen  of  Virginia,  I  cannot  help  hoping  and 
confiding,  that  our  Supreme  Executive,  whose  acts  will  be  con- 
sidered as  the  acts  of  the  Commonwealth,  estimate  that  honor  too 
highly  to  make  its  infraction  their  own  act.  I  may  be  permitted 
to  hope,  then,  that  if  any  removal  takes  place,  it  will  be  a  gen- 
eral one  ;  and,  as  it  is  said  to  be  left  to  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil to  determine  on  this,  I  am  satisfied  that,  suppressing  every 
other  consideration,  and  weighing  the  matter  dispassionately,  they 
will  determine  upon  this  sole  question,  Is  it  for  the  benefit  of 
those  for  whom  they  act,  that  the  Convention  troops  should  be 
removed  from  among  them  ?  Under  the  head  of  interest,  these 
circumstances,  viz.,  the  expense  of  building  barracks,  said  to 
have  been  £25,000,  and  of  removing  the  troops  backwards  and 
forwards,  amounting  to,  I  know  not  how  much,  are  not  to  be  pre- 
termitted,  merely  because  they  are  Continental  expenses  ;  for  we 
are  a  part  of  the  Continent ;  we  must  pay  a  shilling  of  every  dol- 
lar wasted.  But  the  sums  of  money  which,  by  these  troops,  or 
on  their  account,  are  brought  into,  and  expended  in  this  State, 
are  a  great  and  local  advantage.  This  can  require  no  proof.  If, 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  for  instance,  our  share  of  the  Con- 
tinental debt  should  be  twenty  millions  of  dollars,  or  say  that  we 
are  called  on  to  furnish  an  annual  quota  of  two  millions  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  Congress,  to  be  raised  by  tax,  it  is 
obvious  that  we  should  raise  these  given  sums  with  greater  or 
less  ease,  in  proportion  to  the  greater  or  less  quantity  of  money 
found  in  circulation  among  us.  I  expect  that  our  circulating  mo- 
ney is,  by  the  presence  of  these  troops,  at  the  rate  of  $30,000  a 
week,  at  the  least.  I  have  heard,  indeed,  that  an  objection  arises 
to  their  being  kept  within  this  State,  from  the  information  of 
the  commissary  that  they  cannot  be  subsisted  here.  In  attend- 
ing to  the  information  of  that  officer,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  county  of  King  William  and  its  vicinities  are  one  thing, 
the  territory  of  Virginia  another.  If  the  troops  could  be  fed 
upon  long  letters,  I  believe  the  gentleman  at  the  head  of  that  de- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  215 

partment  in  this  country,  would  be  the  best  commissary  upon 
earth.     But  till  I  see  him  determined  to  act,  not  to  write  ;  to 
sacrifice  his  domestic  ease  to  the  duties  of  his  appointment,  and 
apply  to  the  resources  of  this  country,  wheresoever  they  are  to 
be  had,  I  must  entertain  a  different  opinion  of  him.     I  am  mis- 
taken if,  for  the  animal  subsistence  of  the  troops  hitherto,  we 
are  not  principally  indebted  to  the  genius  and  exertions  of 
Hawkins,  during  the  very  short  time  he  lived  after  his  appoint- 
ment to  that  department,  by  your  board.     His  eye  immediately 
pervaded  the  whole  State,  it  was  reduced  at  once  to  a  regular 
machine,  to  a  system,  and  the  whole  put  into  movement  and 
animation  by  the  fiat  of  a  comprehensive  mind.     If  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Virginia  cannot  furnish  these  troops  with  bread, 
I  would  ask  of  the  commissariat,  which  of  the  thirteen  is  now 
become  the  grain  colony  ?     If  we  are  in  danger  of  famine  from 
the  addition  of  four  thousand  mouths,  what  is  become  of  that 
surplus  of  bread,  the  exportation  of  which  used  to  feed  the 
West  Indies  and  Eastern  States,  and  fill  the  colony  with  hard 
money  ?     When  I  urge  the  sufficiency  of  this  State,  however, 
to  subsist  these  troops,  I  beg  to  be  understood,  as  having  in  con- 
templation the  quantity  of  provisions  necessary  for  their  real 
use,  and  not  as  calculating  what  is  to  be  lost  by  the  wanton 
waste,    mismanagement,   and   carelessness  of   those   employed 
about  it.     If  magazines  of  beef  and  pork  are  suffered  to  rot  by 
slovenly  butchering,  or  for  want  of  timely  provision  and  sale  ; 
if  quantities  of  flour  are  exposed,  by  the  commissaries  entrusted 
with  the  keeping  it,  to  pillage  and  destruction  ;  and  if,  when 
laid  up  in  the  Continental  stores,  it  is  still  to  be  embezzled  and 
sold,  the  land  of  Egypt  itself  would  be  insufficient  for  their 
supply,  and  their  removal  would  be  necessary,  not  to  -  a  more 
plentiful  country,  but  to  more  able  and  honest  commissaries. 
Perhaps  the  magnitude  of  this  question,  and  its  relation  to  the 
whole  State,  may  render  it  worth  while  to  await  the  opinion  of 
the  National  Council,  which  is  now  to  meet  within  a  few  weeks. 
There  is  no  danger  of  distress  in  the  meantime,  as  the  commis- 
saries affirm  they  have  a  great  sufficiency  of  provisions  for  some 


216  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

time  to  come.  Should  the  measure  of  removing  them  into  an- 
other State  be  adopted,  and  carried  into  execution,  before  the 
meeting  of  Assembly,  no  disapprobation  of  theirs  will  bring 
them  back,  because  they  will  then  be  in  the  power  of  others, 
who  will  hardly  give  them  up. 

Want  of  information  as  to  what  may  be  the  precise  measure 
proposed  by  the  Governor  and  Council,  obliges  me  to  shift  my 
ground,  and  take  up  the  subject  in  every  possible  form.  Perhaps, 
they  have  not  thought  to  remove  the  troops  out  of  this  State  alto- 
gether, but  to  some  other  part  of  it.  Here,  the  objections  arising 
from  the  expenses  of  removal,  and  of  building  new  barracks,  recur. 
As  to  animal  food,  it  may  be  driven  to  one  part  of  the  country  as 
easily  as  to  another :  that  circumstance,  therefore,  may  be  thrown 
out  of  the  question.  As  to  bread,  I  suppose  they  will  require 
about  forty  or  forty-five  thousand  bushels  of  grain  a  year.  The 
place  to  which  it  is  to  be  brought  to  them,  is  about  the  centre  of 
the  State.  Besides,  that  the  country  round  about  is  fertile,  all 
the  grain  made  in  the  counties  adjacent  to  any  kind  of  navigation, 
may  be  brought  by  water  to  within  twelve  miles  of  the  spot.  For 
these  twelve  miles,  wagons  must  be  employed  ;  I  suppose  half  a 
dozen  will  be  a  plenty.  Perhaps,  this  part  of  the  expense  mjght 
have  been  saved,  had  the  barracks  been  built  on  the  water ;  but 
it  is  not  sufficient  to  justify  their  being  abandoned  now  they  are 
built.  Wagonage,  indeed,  seems  to  the  commissariat  an  article 
not  worth  economising.  The  most  wanton  and  studied  circuity  of 
transportation  has  been  practised :  to  mention  only  one  act,  they 
have  bought  quantities  of  flour  for  these  troops  in  Cumberland, 
have  ordered  it  to  be  wagoned  down  to  Manchester,  and  wagoned 
thence  up  to  the  barracks.  This  fact  happened  to  fall  within  my 
own  knowledge.  I  doubt  not  there  are  many  more  such,  in  order 
either  to  produce  their  total  removal,  or  to  run  up  the  expenses  of 
the  present  situation,  and  satisfy  Congress  that  the  nearer  they  are 
brought  to  the  commissary's  own  bed,  the  cheaper  they  will  be 
subsisted.  The  grain  made  in  the  western  counties  may  be 
brought  partly  in  wagons,  as  conveniently  to  this  as  to  any  other 
place ;  perhaps  more  so,  on  account  of  its  vicinity  to  one  of  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  217 

best  passes  through  the  Blue  Ridge  ;  and  partly  by  water,  as  it  is 
near  to  James  river,  to  the  navigation  of  which,  ten  counties  are 
adjacent  above  the  falls.  When  I  said  that  the  grain  might  be 
brought  hither  from  all  the  counties  of  the  State  adjacent  to  navi- 
gation, I  did  not  mean  to  say  it  would  be  proper  to  bring  it  from 
all.  On  the  contrary,  I  think  the  commissary  should  be  instructed, 
after  the  next  harvest,  not  to  send  one  bushel  of  grain  to  the 
barracks  from  below  the  falls  of  the  rivers,  or  from  the  northern 
counties.  The  counties  on  tide  water  are  accessible  to  the  calls 
for  our  own  army.  Their  supplies  ought,  therefore,  to  be  hus- 
banded for  them.  The  counties  in  the  northwestern  parts  of  the 
State  are  not  only  within  reach  for  our  own  grand  army,  but  pecu- 
liarly necessary  for  the  support  of  Macintosh's  army ;  or  for  the 
support  of  any  other  northwestern  expedition,  which  the  uncertain 
conduct  of  the  Indians  should  render  necessary  ;  insomuch,  that  if 
the  supplies  of  that  quarter  should  be  misapplied  to  any  other  pur- 
pose, it  would  destroy,  in  embryo,  every  exertion,  either  for  par- 
ticular or  general  safety  there.  The  counties  above  tide  water, 
in  the  middle  and  southern  and  western  parts  of  the  country,  are 
not  accessible  to  calls  for  either  of  those  purposes,  but  at  such  an 
expense  of  transportation  as  the  article  would  not  bear.  Here, 
then,  is  a  great  field,  whose  supplies  of  bread  cannot  be  carried 
to  our  army,  or  rather,  which  will  raise  no  supplies  of  bread,  be- 
cause there  is  nobody  to  eat  them.  Was  it  not,  then,  wise  in 
Congress  to  remove  to  that  field  four  thousand  idle  mouths,  who 
must  otherwise  have  interfered  with  the  pasture  of  our  own  troops  ? 
And,  if  they  are  removed  to  any  other  part  of  the  country,  will 
it  not  defeat  this  wise  purpose  ?  The  mills  on  the  waters  of 
James  river,  above  the  falls,  open  to  canoe  navigation,  are  very 
many.  Some  of  them  are  of  great  note,  as  manufacturers.  The 
barracks  are  surrounded  by  mills.  There  are  five  or  six  round 
about  Charlottesville.  Any  two  or  three  of  the  whole  might,  in 
the  course  of  the  winter,  manufacture  flour  sufficient  for  the  year. 
To  say  the  worst,  then,  of  this  situation,  it  is  but  twelve  miles 
wrong.  The  safe  custody  of  these  troops  is  another  circumstance 
worthy  consideration.  Equally  removed  from  the  access  of  an 


218  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

eastern  or  western  enemy ;  central  to  the  whole  State,  so  that, 
should  they  attempt  an  irruption  in  any  direction,  they  must  pass 
through  a  great  extent  of  hostile  country ;  in  a  neighborhood 
thickly  inhabited  by  a  robust  and  hardy  people,  zealous  in  the 
American  cause,  acquainted  with  the  use  of  arms,  and  the  denies 
and  passes  by  which  they  must  issue  :  it  would  seem,  that  in  this 
point  of  view,  no  place  could  have  been  better  chosen. 

Their  health  is  also  of  importance.  I  would  not  endeavor  to 
show  that  their  lives  are  valuable  to  us,  because  it  would  suppose 
a  possibility,  that  humanity  was  kicked  out  of  doors  in  America, 
and  interest  only  attended  to.  The  barracks  occupy  the  top  and 
brow  of  a  very  high  hill,  (you  have  been  untruly  told  they  were 
in  a  bottom.)  They  are  free  from  fog,  have  four  springs  which 
seem  to  be  plentiful,  one  within  twenty  yards  of  the  piquet,  two 
within  fifty  yards,  and  another  within  two  hundred  and  fifty,  and 
they  propose  to  sink  wells  within  the  piquet.  Of  four  thousand 
people,  it  should  be  expected,  according  to  the  ordinary  calcula- 
tions, that  one  should  die  every  day.  Yet,  in  the  space  of  near 
three  months,  there  have  been  but  four  deaths  among  them  ;  two 
infants  under  three  weeks  old,  and  two  others  by  apoplexy.  The 
officers  tell  me,  the  troops  were  never  before  so  healthy  since  they 
were  embodied. 

But  is  an  enemy  so  execrable,  that,  though  in  captivity,  his 
wishes  and  comforts  are  to  be  disregarded  and  even  crossed  ?  I 
think  not.  It  is  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  to  mitigate  the  hor- 
rors of  war  as  much  as  possible.  The  practice,  therefore,  of 
modern  nations,  of  treating  captive  enemies  with  politeness  and 
generosity,  is  not  only  delightful  in  contemplation,  but  really  in- 
teresting to  all  the  world,  friends,  foes  and  neutrals.  Let  us  apply 
this :  the  officers,  after  considerable  hardships,  have  all  procured 
quarters,  comfortable  and  satisfactory  to  them.  In  order  to  do 
this,  they  were  obliged,  in  many  instances,  to  hire  houses  for  a 
year  certain,  and  at  such  exorbitants  rents,  as  were  sufficient  to 
tempt  independent  owners  to  go  out  of  them,  and  shift  as  they 
could.  These  houses,  in  most  cases,  were  much  out  of  repair. 
They  have  repaired  them  at  a  considerable  expense.  One  of 


CORRESPONDENCE.  219 

the  general  officers  has  taken  a  place  for  two  years,  advanced  the 
rent  for  the  whole  time,  and  been  obliged,  moreover,  to  erect  ad- 
ditional buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  part  of  his  family, 
for  which  there  was  not  room  in  the  house  rented.  Independent 
of  the  brick  work,  for  the  carpentry  of  these  additional  build- 
ings, I  know  he  is  to  pay  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  The  same 
gentleman,  to  my  knowledge,  has  paid  to  one  person  three  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  seventy  dollars  for  different  articles  to  fix 
himself  commodiously.  They  have  generally  laid  in  their  stocks 
of  grain  and  other  provisions,  for  it  is  well  known  that  officers 
do  not  live  on  their  rations.  They  have  purchased  cows,  sheep, 
&c.,  set  in  to  farming,  prepared  their  gardens,  and  have  a  pros- 
pect of  comfort  and  quiet  before  them.  To  turn  to  the  soldiers : 
the  environs  of  the  barracks  are  delightful,  the  ground  cleared, 
laid  off  in  hundreds  of  gardens,  each  enclosed  in  its  separate 
paling ;  these  well  prepared,  and  exhibiting  a  fine  appearance. 
General  Riedezel  alone  laid  out  upwards  of  two  hundred  pounds 
in  garden  seeds  for  the  German  troops  only.  Judge  what  an 
extent  of  ground  these  seeds  would  cover.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  their  own  gardens  will  furnish  them  a  great  abundance  of 
vegetables  through  the  year.  Their  poultry,  pigeons  and  other 
preparations  of  that  kind,  present  to  the  mind  the  idea  of  a  com- 
pany of  farmers,  rather  than  a  camp  of  soldiers.  In  addition  to 
the  barracks  built  for  them  by  the  public,  and  now  very  com- 
fortable, they  have  built  great  numbers  for  themselves,  in  such 
messes  as  fancied  each  other ;  and  the  whole  corps,  both  officers 
and  men,  seem  now  happy  and  satisfied  with  their  situation. 
Having  thus  found  the  art  of  rendering  captivity  itself  comforta- 
ble, and  carried  it  into  execution,  at  their  own  great  expense  and 
labor,  their  spirits  sustained  by  the  prospect  of  gratifications  rising 
before  their  eyes,  does  not  every  sentiment  of  humanity  revolt 
against  the  proposition  of  stripping  them  of  all  this,  and  remov- 
ing them  into  new  situations,  where,  from  the  advanced  season 
of  the  year,  no  preparations  can  be  made  for  carrying  themselves 
comfortably  through  the  heats  of  summer ;  and  when  it  is  known 
that  the  necessary  advances  for  the  conveniences  already  pro- 


220  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

vided,  have  exhausted  their  funds  and  left  them  unable  to  make 
the  like  exertions  anew.  Again,  review  this  matter,  as  it  may 
regard  appearances.  A  body  of  troops,  after  staying  a  twelve- 
month at  Boston,  are  ordered  to  take  a  march  of  seven  hundred 
miles  to  Virginia,  where,  it  is  said,  they  may  be  plentifully  sub- 
sisted. As  soon  as  they  are  there,  they  are  ordered  on  some  other 
march,  because,  in  Virginia,  it  is  said,  they  cannot  be  subsisted. 
Indifferent  nations  will  charge  this  either  to  ignorance,  or  to  whim 
and  caprice  ;  the  parties  interested,  to  cruelty.  They  now  view 
the  proposition  in  that  light,  and  it  is  said,  there  is  a  general  and 
firm  persuasion  among  them,  that  they  were  marched  from  Bos- 
ton with  no  other  purpose  than  to  harass  and  destroy  them  with 
eternal  marches.  Perseverance  in  object,  though  not  by  the  most 
direct  way,  is  often  more  laudable  than  perpetual  changes,  as 
often  as  the  object  shifts  light.  A  character  of  steadiness  in  our 
councils,  is  worth  more  than  the  subsistence  of  four  thousand 
people. 

There  could  not  have  been  a  more  unlucky  concurrence  of  cir- 
cumstances than  when  these  troops  first  came.  The  barracks 
were  unfinished  for  want  of  laborers,  the  spell  of  weather  the 
worst  ever  known  within  the  memory  of  man,  no  stores  of  bread 
laid  in,  the  roads,  by  the  weather  and  number  of  wagons,  soon 
rendered  impassable  :  not  only  the  troops  themselves  were  greatly 
disappointed,  but  the  people  in  the  neighborhood  were  alarmed  at 
the  consequences  which  a  total  failure  of  provisions  might  pro- 
duce. In  this  worst  state  of  things,  their  situation  was  seen  by 
many  and  disseminated  through  the  country,  so  as  to  occasion  a 
general  dissatisfaction,  which  even  seized  the  minds  of  reason- 
able men,  who,  if  not  affected  by  the  contagion,  must  have  fore- 
seen that  the  prospect  must  brighten,  and  that  great  advantages 
to  the  people  must  necessarily  arise.  It  has,  accordingly,  so  hap- 
pened. The  planters,  being  more  generally  sellers  than  buyers, 
have  felt  the  benefit  of  their  presence  in  the  most  vital  part 
about  them,  their  purses,  and  are  now  sensible  of  its  source.  I 
have  too  good  an  opinion  of  their  love  of  order  to  believe  that  a 
removal  of  these  troops  would  produce  any  irregular  proofs  of  their 


CORRESPONDENCE.  221 

disapprobation,  but  I  am  well  assured  it  would  be  extremely 
odious  to  them. 

To  conclude.  The  separation  of  these  troops  would  be  a 
breach  of  public  faith,  therefore  I  suppose  it  is  impossible ;  if 
they  are  removed  to  another  State,  it  is  the  fault  of  the  commis- 
saries ;  if  they  are  removed  to  any  other  part  of  the  State,  it  is  the 
fault  of  the  commissaries ;  and  in  both  cases,  the  public  interest 
and  public  security  suffer,  the  comfortable  and  plentiful  subsist- 
ence of  our  own  army  is  lessened,  the  health  of  the  troops  ne- 
glected, their  wishes  crossed,  and  their  comforts  torn  from  them, 
the  character  of  whim  and  caprice,  or,  what  is  worse,  of  cruelty, 
fixed  on  us  as  a  nation,  and,  to  crown  the  whole,  our  own  peo- 
ple disgusted  with  such  a  proceeding. 

I  have  thus  taken  the  liberty  of  representing  to  you  the  facts 
and  the  reasons,  which  seem  to  militate  against  the  separation  or 
removal  of  these  troops.  I  am  sensible,  however,  that  the  same 
subject  may  appear  to  different  persons,  in  very  different  lights. 
What  I  have  urged  as  reasons,  may,  to  sounder  minds,  be  appa- 
rent fallacies.  I  hope  they  will  appear,  at  least,  so  plausible,  as 
to  excuse  the  interposition  of 

Your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

WILUAMSBUUG,  June  23,  1779. 

SIR, — I  have  the  pleasure  to  enclose  you  the  particulars  of 
Colonel  Clarke's  success  against  St.  Vincennes,  as  stated  in  his 
letter  but  lately  received ;  the  messenger,  with  his  first  letter, 
having  been  killed.  I  fear  it  will  be  impossible  for  Colonel 
Clarke  to  be  so  strengthened,  as  to  enable  him  to  do  what  he  de- 
sires. Indeed,  the  express  who  brought  this  letter,  gives  us 
reason  to  fear  St.  Vincennes  is  in  danger  from  a  large  body  of 
Indians  collected  to  attack  it,  and  said,  when  he  came  from  Kas- 
kaskias,  to  be  within  thirty  leagues  of  the  place.  I  also  enclose 


JEFFERSON'S    "WORKS. 

you  a  letter  from  Colonel  Shelby,  stating  the  effect  of  his  success 
against  the  seceding  Cherokees,  and  Chuccamogga.  The  damage 
done  them,  was  killing  half  a  dozen,  burning  eleven  towns,  twen- 
ty thousand  bushels  of  corn,  collected  probably  to  forward  the  ex- 
peditions which  were  to  have  been  planned  at  the  council  which 
was  to  meet  Governor  Hamilton  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennes- 
see, and  taking  as  many  goods  as  sold  for  twenty-five  thousand 
pounds.  I  hope  these  two  blows  coming  together,  and  the  de- 
priving them  of  their  head,  will,  in  some  measure,  effect  the 
quiet  of  our  frontiers  this  summer.  We  have  intelligence,  also, 
that  Colonel  Bowman,  from  Kentucky,  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
Shawnee  country,  with  three  hundred  men,  and  hope  to  hear  a 
good  account  of  him.  The  enclosed  order,  being  in  its  nature 
important,  and  generally  interesting,  I  think  it  proper  to  transmit 
it  to  you,  with  the  reasons  supporting  it.*  It  will  add  much  to 
our  satisfaction,  to  know  it  meets  your  approbation. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  every  sentiment  of  private  respect 
and  public  gratitude, 

Sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 


P.  S. — The  distance  of  our  northern  and  western  counties, 

TO    THE    GOVERN'OR    OF    VIRGINIA. 

KASKASKIAS,  ILLINOIS,  April  29,  1779. 

DEAR  SIR, — A  few  days  ago,  I  received  certain  intelligence  of  William  Morris,  mj 
express  to  you,  being  killed  near  the  falls  of  Ohio  ;  news  truly  disagreeable  to  me,  as 
I  fear  many  of  my  letters  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  at  Detroit,  although 
Eomeof  them,  as  I  learn,  were  found  in  the  woods  torn  in  pieces.  I  do  not  doubt  but 
before  the  receipt  of  his,  you  will  have  heard  of  my  late  success  against  Governor 
Hamilton,  at  post  St.  Vincennes.  That  gentleman,  with  a  body  of  men,  possessed 
himself  of  that  post  on  the  15th  of  December  last,  repaired  the  fortifications  for  a  re- 
pository, and  in  the  spring,  meant  to  attack  this  place,  which  he  made  no  doubt  of 
carrying;  where  he  was  to  be  joined  by  two  hundred  Indians  from  Michilimackinac, 
and  five  hundred  Cherokees,  Chickasaws,  and  other  nations.  With  this  body,  he  was 
to  penetrate  up  the  Ohio  to  Fort  Pitt,  sweeping  Kentucky  on  his  way,  having  light 
bras-s  cannon  for  the  purpose,  joined  on  his  march  by  all  the  Indians  that  could  be  got 
to  him.  He  made  no  doubt,  that  he  could  force  all  West  Augusta.  This  expedition 
was  ordered  by  the  commander-in-chief  of  Canada,  Destruction  seemed  to  hover 
over  us  from  every  quarter  ;  detached  parties  of  the  enemy  were  in  the  neighborhood 


CORRESPONDENCE.  223 

from  the  scene  of  southern  service,  and  the  necessity  of  strength- 
ening our  western  quarter,  have  induced  the  Council  to  direct 
the  new  levies  from  the  counties  of  Yohogania,  Ohio,  Monon- 
galia,  Frederick,  Hampshire,  Berkeley,  Rockingham,  and  Green- 
brier,  amounting  to  somewhat  less  than  three  hundred  men,  to 

every  day,  but  afraid  to  attack.  I  ordered  Major  Bowman  to  evacuate  the  fort  at  the 
Cohas,  aud  join  me  immediately,  which  he  did.  Having  not  received  a  scrape  of  a 
pen  from  you,  for  near  twelve  months,  I  could  see  but  little  probability  of  keeping 
possession  of  the  country,  as  my  number  of  men  was  too  small  to  stand  a  siege,  and 
my  situation  too  remote  to  call  for  assistance.  I  made  .all  the  preparations  I  possibly 
could  for  the  attack,  and  was  necessitated  to  set  fire  to  some  of  the  houses  in  toAvn,  to 
clear  them  out  of  the  way.  But  in  the  height  of  the  hurry,  a  Spanish  merchant,  who 
had  been  at  St.  Vincennes,  arrived,  and  gave  the  following  intelligence :  that  Mr. 
Hamilton  had  weakened  himself,  by  sending  his  Indians  against  the  frontiers,  and  to 
block  up  the  Ohio ;  that  he  had  not  more  than  eighty  men  in  garrison,  three  pieces 
of  cannon,  and  some  swivels  mounted ;  and  that  he  intended  to  attack  this  place,  as 
soon  as  the  winter  opened,  and  made  no  doubt  of  clearing  the  western  waters  by  the 
fall.  My  situation  and  circumstances  induced  me  to  fall  on  the  resolution  of  attacking 
him,  before  he  could  collect  his  Indians  again.  I  was  sensible  the  resolution  was  as 
desperate  as  my  situation,  but  I  saw  no  other  probability  of  securing  the  country.  I 
immediately  despatched  a  small  galley,  which  I  had  fitted  up,  mounting  two  four 
pounders  and  four  swivels,  with  a  company  of  men  and  necessary  stores  on  board, 
with  orders  to  force  her  way,  if  possible,  and  station  herself  a  few  miles  below  the 
enemy,  suffer  nothing  to  pass  her,  and  wait  for  further  orders.  In  the  meantime,  I 
marched  across  the  country  with  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  being  all  I  could  raise, 
after  leaving  this  place  garrisoned  by  the  militia.  The  inhabitants  of  the  country  be- 
haved exceedingly  well,  numbers  of  young  men  turned  out  on  the  expedition,  and 
every  other  one  embodied  to  guard  the  different  towns.  I  marched  the  7th  of 
February.  Although  so  small  a  body,  it  took  me  sixteen  days  on  the  route.  The  in- 
clemency of  the  season,  high  waters,  <fcc.,  seemed  to  threaten  the  loss  of  the  expedition. 
When  within  three  leagues  of  the  enemy,  in  a  direct  line,  it  took  us  five  days  to  cross 
the  drowned  lands  of  the  W abash  river,  having  to  wade  often,  upwards  of  two 
leagues,  to  our  breast  in  water.  Had  not  the  weather  been  warm,  we  must  have 
perished.  But  on  the  evening  of  the  23d,  we  got  on  dry  land,  in  sight  of  the  enemy; 
and  at  seven  o'clock,  made  the  attack,  before  they  knew  anything  of  us.  The  town 
immediately  surrendered  with  joy,  and  assisted  in  the  seige.  There  was  a  continual 
fire  on  both  sides,  for  eighteen  hours.  I  had  no  expectation  of  gaining  the  fort  until 
the  arrival  of  my  artillery.  The  moon  setting  about,  one  o'clock,  I  had  an  entrench- 
ment thrown  up  within  rifle  shot  of  their  strongest  battery,  and  poured  such  showers 
of  well-directed  balls  into  their  ports,  that  we  silenced  two  pieces  of  cannon  in  fifteen 
minutes,  without  getting  a  man  hurt. 

Governor  Hamilton  and  myself  had,  on  the  following  day,  several  conferences,  but 
did  not  agree  until  the  evening,  when  he  agreed  to  surrender  the  garrison  (seventy- 
Dine  in  number)  prisoners  of  war,  with  considerable  stores.  I  got  only  one  ir.an 


224  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

enter  into  the  ninth  regiment  at  Pittsburg.  The  aid  they  may 
give  there,  will  be  so  immediate  and  important,  and  what  they 
could  do  to  the  southward,  would  be  so  late,  as,  I  hope,  will 
apologise  for  their  interference. 

T.  J. 

wounded  ;  not  being  able  to  lose  many,  I  made  them  secure  themselves  well.  Seven 
were  badly  wounded  in  the  fort,  through  the  ports.  In  the  height  of  this  action,  an 
Indian  party  that  had  been  to  war,  and  taken  two  prisoners,  came  in,  not  knowing 
of  us.  Hearing  of  them,  I  despatched  a  party  to  give  them  battle  in  the  commons, 
and  got  nine  of  them,  with  the  two  prisoners,  who  proved  to  be  Frenchmen.  Hearing 
of  a  convoy  of  goods  from  Detroit,  I  sent  a  party  of  sixty  men,  in  armed  boats  well 
mounted  with  swivels,  to  meet  them,  before  they  could  receiye  any  intelligence. 
They  met  the  convoy  forty  leagues  up  the  river,  and  made  a  prize  of  the  whole, 
taking  forty  prisoners  and  about  ten  thousand  pounds  worth  of  goods  and  provisions  ; 
also,  the  mail  from  Canada  to  Governor  Hamilton,  containing,  however,  no  news  of 
importance.  But  what  crowned  the  general  joy,  was  the  arrival  of  William  Morris, 
my  express  to  you,  with  your  letters,  which  gave  general  satisfaction.  The  soldiery, 
being  made  sensible  of  the  gratitude  of  their  country  for  their  services,  were  so  much 
elated,  that  they  would  have  attempted  the  reduction  of  Detroit,  had  I  ordered  them. 
Having  more  prisoners  than  I  knew  what  to  do  with,  I  was  obliged  to  discharge  a 
greater  part  of  them,  on  parole.  Mr.  Hamilton,  his  principal  officers  and  a  few  sol- 
diers, I  have  sent  to  Kentucky,  under  a  convoy  of  Captain  Williams,  in  order  to  be 
conducted  to  you.  After  despatching  Morris  with  letters  to  you,  treating  with  the 
neighboring  Indians,  &c.,  I  returned  to  this  place,  leaving  a  sufficient  garrison  at  St. 
Viucennes. 

During  my  absence,  Captain  Robert  George,  who  now  commands  the  company 
formerly  commanded  by  Captain  Willing,  had  returned  from  New  Orleans,  which 
greatly  added  to  our  strength.  It  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  inhabitants,  when 
acquainted  with  the  protection  which  was  given  them,  the  alliance  with  France,  &c. 
I  am  impatient  for  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Montgomery,  but  have  heard  nothing  of  him 
lately.  By  your  instructions  to  me,  I  find  you  put  no  confidence  in  General  M'ln- 
tosh's  taking  Detroit,  as  you  encourage  me  to  attempt  it,  if  possible.  It  had  been 
twice  in  my  power.  Had  I  been  able  to  raise  only  five  hundred  men  when  I  first  ar- 
rived in  the  country,  or  when  I  was  at  St.  Vincennes,  could  I  have  secured  my  prison- 
ers, and  only  have  had  three  hundred  good  men,  I  should  have  attempted  it,  and 
since  learn  there  could  have  been  no  doubt  of  success,  as  by  some  gentlemen  lately 
from  that  post,  we  are  informed  that  the  town  and  country  kept  three  days  in  feast 
ing  and  diversions,  on  hearing  of  my  success  against  Mr.  Hamilton,  and  were  so  cer- 
tain of  my  embracing  the  fair  opportunity  of  possessing  myself  of  that  post,  that 
the  merchants  and  others  provided  many  necessaries  for  us  on  our  arrival ;  the  gar- 
rison, consisting  of  only  eighty  men,  not  daring  to  stop  their  diversions.  They  are 
now  completing  a  new  fort,  and  I  fear  too  strong  for  any  force  I  shall  ever  be  able  to 
raise  in  this  country.  We  are  proud  to  hear  Congress  intends  putting  their  forces  on 
the  frontiers,  under  your  direction.  A  small  army  from  Pittsburg,  conducted  with 
spirit,  may  easily  take  Detroit,  and  put  an  end  to  the  Indian  war.  Those  Indians 


CORRESPONDENCE.  225 

TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

WiLMAMsBuac,  July  17,  170'.). 

SIR, — I  some  time  ago,  enclosed  to  you  a  printed  copy  of  an 
order  of  Council,  by  which  Governor  Hamilton  was  to  be  con- 

who  are  active  against  us,  are  the  six  nations,  part  of  tlie  Shawnese,  the  Meamonies, 
and  about  half  the  Chesawey-s  Ottawas,  Jowaas,  and  Pottawatimas  nations,  border- 
ing on  the  lakes.  Those  nations  who  have  treated  with  me,  have  behaved  since  very 
well ;  to  wit,  the  Peaukishaws,  Kiccapoos,  Orcaottenans  of  the  Wabash  river,  the 
Kaskias,  Perrians,  Mecljigamies,  Foxes,  Socks,  Opays,  Illinois  and  Poues,  nations  of 
the  Mississippi  and  Illinois  rivers.  Part  of  the  Chessaweys  have  also  treated,  and 
are  peaceable.  I  continually  keep  agents  among  them,  to  watch  their  motions  and 
keep  them  peaceably  inclined.  Many  of  the  Cherokees,  Chickasaws,  and  their  con- 
federates, are,  I  fear,  ill  disposed.  It  would  be  well  if  Colonel  Montgomery  should 
give  them  a  dressing,  as  he  comes  down  the  Tennessee.  There  can  be  no  peace  ex- 
pected from  many  nations,  while  the  English  are  at  Detroit.  I  strongly  suspect  they 
will  turn  their  arms  against  the  Illinois,  as  they  will  be  encouraged.  I  shall  always 
be  on  my  guard,  watching  every  opportunity  to  take  the  advantage  of  the  enemy, 
and,  if  I  am  ever  able  to  muster  six  or  seven  hundred  men,  I  shall  give  them  a 
shorter  distance  to  come  and  fight  me,  than  at  this  place. 

There  is  one  circumstance  very  distressing,  that  of  our  'moneys  being  discredited, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  by  the  great  number  of  traders  who  come  here  in  my 
absence,  each  outbidding  the  other,  giving  prices  unknown  in  this  country  by  five 
hundred  per  cent.,  by  which  the  people  conceived  it  to  be  of  no  value,  and  both 
French  and  Spaniards  refused  to  take  a  farthing  of  it.  Provision  is  three  times  the 
price  it  was  two  months  past,  and  to  be  got  by  no  other  means  than  my  own  bonds, 
goods,  or  force.  Several  merchants  are  now  advancing  considerable  sums  of  their 
own  property,  rather  than  the  service  should  suffer,  by  which  I  am  sensible  they 
must  lose  greatly,  unless  some  method  is  taken  to  raise  the  credit  of  our  coin,  or 
a  fund  be  sent  to  Orleans,  for  the  payment  of  the  expenses  of  this  place,  which 
would  at  once  reduce  the  price  of  every  species  of  provision  ;  money  being  of  little 
service  to  them,  unless  it  would  pass  at  the  ports  they  trade  at.  I  mentioned  to  you, 
my  drawing  some  bills  on  Mr.  Pollock  in  New  Orleans,  as  I  had  no  money  with  me. 
He  would  accept  the  bills,  but  had  not  money  to  pay  them  off,  though  the  sums  were 
trifling ;  so  that  we  have  little  credit  to  expect  from  that  quarter.  I  shall  take  every 
step  I  possibly  can,  for  laying  up  a  sufficient  quantity  of  provisions,  and  hope  you 
will  immediately  send  me  an  express  with  your  instructions.  Public  expenses  in 
this  country,  have  hitherto  been  very  low,  and  may  still  continue  so,  if  a  corre- 
spondence is  fixed  at  New  Orleans  for  payment  of  expenses  in  this  country,  or  gold 
and  silver  sent.  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  Colonel  Todd's  appointment.  I  think  govern 
ment  has  taken  the  only  step  they  could  have  done,  to  make  this  country  flourish, 
and  be  of  service  to  them.  No  other  regulation  would  have  suited  the  people.  The 
last  account  I  had  of  Colonel  Rogers,  was  his  being  in  New  Orleans,  with  six  of  his 
men.  The  rest  he  left  at  the  Spanish  Ozack,  above  the  Natches.  I  shall  imme- 
diately send  him  some  provisions,  as  I  luarn  he  is  in  great  want.  I  doubt,  he  will 
VOL.  I.  15 


226  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

fined  in  irons,  in  close  jail,  which  has  occasioned  a  letter  from 
General  Phillips,  of  which  the  enclosed  is  a  copy  The  General 
seems  to  think  that  a  prisoner  on  capitulation,  cannot  be  put  in 
close  confinement,  though  his  capitulation  should  not  have  pro- 
vided against  it.  My  idea  was,  that  all  persons  taken  in  war, 

not  be  able  to  get  his  goods  up  the  river  except  in  Spanish  bottoms.  One  regiment 
•would  be  able  to  clear  the  Mississippi,  and  do  great  damage  to  the  British  interests 
in  Florida,  and,  by  properly  conducting  themselves,  might  perhaps  gain  the  affection 
of  the  people,  so  as  to  raise  a  sufficient  force  to  give  a  shock  to  Pensacola.  Our 
alliance  with  France  has  entirely  devoted  this  people  to  our  interest.  I  have  sent 
several  copies  of  the  articles  to  Detroit,  and  do  not  doubt  but  they  •will  produce 
the  desired  effect.  Your  instructions  I  shall  pay  implicit  regard  to,  and  hope  to 
conduct  myself  in  such  a  manner  as  to  do  honor  to  my  country. 

I  am,  with  the  greatest  respect,  your  humble  servant, 

G.  R.  CLAEKE. 

P.  S.  I  understand  there  is  a  considerable  quantity  of  cannon  ball  at  Pittsburg. 
We  are  much  in  want  of  four  and  six  pound  ball.  I  hope  you  will  immediately  order 
some  down. 


IN  COUNCIL,  June  18,  1779. 

The  board  proceeded  to  the  consideration  of  the  letters  of  Colonel  Clarke,  and 
other  papers  relating  to  Henry  Hamilton,  Esq.,  who  has  acted  for  some  years  past  as 
Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  settlement  at  and  .about  Detroit,  and  commandant  of  the 
British  garrison  there,  under  Sir  Guy  Carluton,  as  Governor-in-chief ;  Philip  Dejean 
justice  of  the  peace  for  Detroit,  and  William  Lamothe,  captain  of  volunteers,  pris- 
oners of  war,  taken  in  the  county  of  Illinois. 

They  find,  that  Governor  Hamilton  has  executed  the  task  of  inciting  the  Indians  to 
perpetrate  their  accustomed  cruelties  on  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  without 
distinction  of  age,  sex,  or  condition,  with  an  eagerness  and  avidity  which  evince,  that 
the  general  nature  of  his  charge  harmonized  with  his  particular  disposition.  They 
should  have  been  satisfied,  from  the  other  testimony  adduced,  that  these  enormities 
were  committed  by  savages  acting  under  his  commission  ;  but  the  number  of  procla- 
mations which,  at  different  times,  were  left  in  houses,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were 
killed  or  carried  away  by  the  Indians,  one  of  which  proclamations  is  in  possession  of 
the  board,  under  the  hand  and  seal  of  Governor  Hamilton,  puts  this  fact  beyond  a 
doubt.  At  the  time  of  his  captivity,  it  appears,  he  had  sent  considerable  bodies  of 
Indians  against  the  frontier  settlements  of  these  States,  and  had  actually  appointed 
a  great  council  of  Indians,  to  meet  him  at  Tennessee,  to  concert  the  operations  of 
this  present  campaign.  They  find  that  his  treatment  of  our  citizens  and  soldiers, 
taken  and  carried  within  the  limits  of  his  command,  has  been  cruel  and  inhuman ; 
that  in  the  case  of  John  Dodge,  a  citizen  of  these  States,  which  has  been  particularly 
stated  to  this  board,  he  loaded  him  with  irons,  threw  him  into  a  dungeon,  without 
bedding,  without  straw,  without  fire,  in  the  dead  of  winter  and  severe  climate  of  De- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  227 

were  to  be  deemed  prisoners  of  war.  That  those  who  surrender 
on  capitulation  (or  convention)  are  prisoners  of  war  also,  subject  to 
the  same  treatment  with  those  who  surrender  at  discretion,  except 
only  so  far  as  the  terms  of  their  capitulation  or  convention  shall 
have  guarded  them.  In  the  capitulation  of  Governor  Hamilton 

troit ;  that,  in  that  state,  he  wasted  him  with  incessant  expectations  of  death  :  that 
when  the  rigors  of  his  situation  had  brought  him  so  low,  that  death  seemed  likely  to 
withdraw  him  from  their  power,  he  was  taken  out  and  somewhat  attended  to,  until 
a  little  mended,  and  before  he  had  recovered  ability  to  walk,  was  again  returned  to 
his  dungeon,  in  which  a  hole  was  cut,  seven  inches  square  only,  for  the  admission  of 
air,  and  the  same  load  of  irons  again  put  on  him  :  that  appearing,  a  second  time,  in 
imminent  danger  of  being  lost  to  them,  he  was  again  taken  from  his  dungeon,  in. 
which  he  had  lain  from  January  till  June,  with  the  intermission  of  a  few  weeks  only, 
before  mentioned.  That  Governor  Hamilton  gave  standing  rewards  for  scalps,  but 
offered  none  for  prisoners,  which  induced  the  Indians,  after  making  their  captives 
carry  their  baggage  into  the  neighborhood  of  the  fort,  there  to  put  them  to  death, 
and  carry  iu  their  scalps  to  the  Governor,  who  welcomed  their  return  and  success  by 
a  discharge  of  cannon.  That  when  a  prisoner,  brought  alive,  and  destined  to  death 
by  the  Indians,  the  fire  already  kindled,  and  himself  bound  to  the  stake,  was  dexter- 
ously withdrawn,  and  secreted  from  them  by  the  humanity  of  a  fellow  prisoner,  a 
large  reward  was  offered  for  the  discovery  of  the  victim,  which  having  tempted  a 
servant  to  betray  his  concealment,  the  present  prisoner  Dejean,  being  sent  with  a 
party  of  soldiers,  surrounded  the  house,  took  and  threw  into  jail  the  unhappy  victim 
and  his  deliverer,  where  the  former  soon  expired  under  the  perpetual  assurances  of 
Dejean,  that  he  was  to  be  again  restored  into  the  hands  of  the  savages ;  and  the 
latter,  when  enlarged,  was  bitterly  reprimanded  by  Governor  Hamilton. 

It  appears  to  them,  that  the  prisoner  Dejean  was  OB  all  occasions  the  willing  and 
cordial  instrument  of  Governor  Hamilton,  acting  both  as  judge  and  keeper  of  the  jails, 
and  instigating  and  urging  him,  by  malicious  insinuations  and  untruths,  to  increase, 
rather  than  relax  his  severities,  heightening  the  cruelty  of  his  orders  by  his  manner 
of  executing  them ;  offering  at  one  time  a  reward  to  one  man  to  be  hangman  for 
another,  threatening  his  life  on  refusal,  and  taking  from  his  prisoners  the  little 
property  their  opportunities  enabled  them  to  acquire. 

It  appears  that  the  prisoner  Lamothe  was  a  captain  of  the  volunteer  scalping  par- 
ties of  Indians  and  whites,  who  went,  from  time  to  time,  under  general  orders  to 
spare  neither  men,  women,  nor  children.  From  this  detail  of  circumstances,  which 
arose  in  a  few  cases  only,  coming  accidentally  to  the  knowledge  of  the  board,  they 
think  themselves  authorized  by  fair  deduction,  to  presume  what  would  be  the  horrid 
history  of  the  sufferings  of  the  many  who  have  expired  under  their  miseries,  (which, 
therefore,  will  remain  forever  untold,)  or,  who  have  escaped  from  them,  and  are  yet 
too  remote  and  too  much  dispersed,  to  bring  together  their  well-founded  accusations 
against  the  prisoners. 

They  have  seen  that  the  conduct  of  the  British  officers,  civil  and  military,  has  in 
the  whole  course  of  this  war  been  savage,  and  unprecedented  among  civilized 


228  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

(a  copy  of  which  I  enclose),  no  stipulation  is  made  as  to  the 
treatment  of  himself,  or  those  taken  with  him.  The  Governor, 
indeed,  when  he  signs,  adds  a  flourish  of  reasons  inducing  him 
to  capitulate,  one  of  which  is  the  generosity  of  his  enemy. 
Generosity,  on  a  large  and  comprehensive  scale,  seems  to  dictate 
the  making  a  signal  example  of  this  gentleman ;  but  waving  that, 
these  are  the  only  private  motives  inducing  him  to  surrender,  and 
do  not  enter  into  the  contract  of  Colonel  Clarke.  I  have  the 
highest  idea  of  those  contracts  which  take  place  between  nation 
and  nation,  at  war,  and  would  be  the  last  on  earth  to  do  anything 
in  violation  of  them.  I  can  find  nothing  in  those  books  usually 
recurred  to  as  testimonials  of  the  law  and  usages  of  nature 
and  nations,  which  convicts  the  opinions  I  have  above  expressed 

nations ;  th.it  our  officers  taken  by  them,  have  been  confined  in  crowded  jails,  loath- 
some dungeons  and  prison  ships,  loaded  with  irons,  supplied  often  with  no  food, 
generally  with  too  little  for  the  sustenance  of  nature,  and  that  little  sometimes  un- 
sound and  unwholesome,  whereby  such  numbers  have  perished,  that  captivity  and 
death  have  with  them  been  almost  synonymous  ;  that  they  have  been  transported 
beyond  seas,  where  their  fate  is  out  of  the  reach  of  our  inquiry,  have  been  compelled 
to  take  arms  against  their  country,  and  by  a  refinement  in  cruelty,  to  become  mur- 
derers of  their  own  brethren. 

Their  prisoners  with  us  have,  on  the  other  hand,  been  treated  with  humanity  and 
moderation  ;  they  have  been  fed,  on  all  occasions,  with  wholesome  and  plentiful  food, 
suffered  to  go  at  large  within  extensive  tracts  of  country,  treated  with  liberal  hospi- 
tality, permitted  to  live  in  the  families  of  our  citizens,  to  labor  for  themselves,  to  ac- 
quire and  enjoy  profits,  and  finally  to  participate  of  the  principal  benefits  of  society, 
privileged  from  all  burdens. 

Reviewing  this  contrast,  which  cannot  be  denied  by  our  enemies  themselves,  in  a 
single  point,  and  which  has  now  been  kept  up  during  four  years  of  unremitting  Avar, 
a  term  long  enough  to  produce  well-founded  despair  that  our  moderation  may  ever 
lead  them  to  the  practice  of  humanity ;  called  on  by  that  justice  we  OAVC  to  those 
Avho  are  fighting  the  battles  of  our  country,  to  deal  out,  at  length,  miseries  to  their 
enemies,  measure  for  measure,  and  to  distress  the  feelings  of  mankind  by  exhibiting 
to  them  spectacles  of  severe  retaliation,  where  we  had  long  and  vainly  endeavored 
to  introduce  an  emulation  in  kindness ;  happily  possessed,  by  the  fortune  of  war,  of 
some  of  those  very  individuals  who,  having  distinguished  themselves  personally  in 
this  line  of  cruel  conduct,  are  fit  subjects  to  begin  on,  with  the  work  of  retaliation ; 
this  board  has  resolved  to  advise  the  Governor,  that  the  said  Henry  Hamilton. 
Philip  Dejean  and  William  Lamothe,  prisoners  of  war,  be  put  in  irons,  confined  in 
the  dungeons  of  the  public  jail,  debarred  the  use  of  pen,  ink  and  paper,  and  ex- 
cluded all  converse,  except  Avith  their  keeper.  And  the  Governer  orders  accordingly. 

AKCH:  BLAIR,  C.  C. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  229 

of  error.  Yet  there  may  be  such  an  usage  as  General  Phillips 
seems  to  suppose,  though  not  taken  notice  of  hy  these  writers. 
I  am  obliged  to  trouble  your  Excellency  on  this  occasion,  by 
asking  of  you  information  on  this  point.  There  is  no  other  per- 
son, whose  decision  will  so  authoritatively  decide  this  doubt  in 
the  public  mind,  and  none  with  which  I  am  disposed  so  implicitly 
to  comply.  If  you  shall  be  of  opinion,  that  the  bare  existence 
of  a  capitulation,  in  the  case  of  Governor  Hamilton,  privileges 
him  from  confinement,  though  there  be  no  article  to  that  effect 
in  the  capitulation,  justice  shall  most  assuredly  be  done  him. 
The  importance  of  this  point,  in  a  public  view,  and  my  own 
anxiety  under  a  charge  of  violation  of  national  faith  by  the 
Executive  of  this  Commonwealth,  will,  I  hope,  apologise  for  my 
adding  this  to  the  many  troubles  with  which  I  know  you  to  be 
burdened.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  profound 
respect, 

Your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 

P.  S.  I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Colonel  Bland,  con- 
taining information  of  numerous  desertions  from  the  Convention 
troops,  not  less  than  four  hundred  in  the  last  fortnight.  He  thinks 
he  has  reason  to  believe  it  is  with  the  connivance  of  some  of 
their  officers.  Some  of  these  have  been  retaken,  all  of  them  going 
northwardly.  They  had  provided  themselves  with  forged  pass- 
ports, and  with  certificates  of  having  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity  to 
the  State  ;  some  of  them  forged,  others  really  given  by  weak  mag- 
istrates. I  give  this  information  to  your  Excellency,  as,  perhaps, 
it  may  be  in  your  power  to  have  such  of  them  intercepted  as  shall 
be  passing  through  Pennsylvania  and  Jersey. 

Your  letter  enclosing  the  opinion  of  the  board  of  war  in  the 
case  of  Allison  and  Lee,  has  come  safe  to  hand,  after  a  long  pas- 
sage. It  shall  be  answered  by  next  post. 


230  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

WILLIAMSBURG,  October  1,  1779. 

SIR, — On  receipt  of  your  letter  of  August  6th,  during  my  ab- 
sence, the  Council  had  the  irons  taken  off  the  prisoners  of  war. 
When  your  advice  was  asked,  we  meant  it  should  decide  with  us ; 
and  upon  my  return  to  Williamsburg,  the  matter  was  taken  up 
and  the  enclosed  advice  given.*  A  parole  was  formed,  of  which 
the  enclosed  is  a  copy,  and  tendered  to  the  prisoners.  They  ob- 
jected to  that  part  of  it,  which  restrained  them  from  saying  any- 
thing to  the  prejudice  of  the  United  States,  and  insisted  on  "  freedom 
of  speech."  They  were,  in  consequence,  remanded  to  their  con- 
finement in  the  jail,  which  must  be  considered  as  a  voluntary  one, 
until  they  can  determine  with  themselves  to  be  inoffensive  in  word 

*  Ix  COUNCIL,  September  29lh,  1779. 

The  board  having  been,  at  no  time,  unmindful  of  the  circumstances  attending  the 
confinement  of  Lieutenant  Governor  Hamilton,  Captain  Lamothe  and  Philip  Dejeau, 
•which  the  personal  cruelties  of  those  men,  as  well  as  the  general  conduct  of  the  en- 
emy, had  constrained  them  to  advise  :  wishing,  and  willing  to  expect,  that  their  suf- 
ferings may  lead  them  to  the  practice  of  humanity,  should  any  future  turn  of  fortune, 
in  their  favor,  submit  to  their  discretion  the  fate  of  their  fellow-creatures  ;  that  it 
may  prove  an  admonition  to  others,  meditating  like  cruelties,  not  to  rely  for  impunity 
in  any  circumstances  of  distance  or  present  security ;  and  that  it  may  induce  the  en- 
emy to  reflect,  what  must  be  the  painful  consequences,  should  a  continuation  of  tne 
same  conduct  on  their  part,  impel  us  again  to  severities,  while  such  multiplied  subjects 
of  retaliation  are  within  our  power:  sensible. that  no  impression  can  be  made  on  the 
event  of  the  war,  by  wreaking  vengeance  on  miserable  captives ;  that  the  great  cause 
which  has  animated  the  two  nations  against  each  other,  is  not  to  be  decided  by  un- 
manly cruelties  on  wretches,  who  have  bowed  their  necks  to  the  power  of  the  victor, 
but  by  the  exercise  of  honorable  valor  in  the  field  :  earnestly  hoping  that  the  enemy, 
viewing  the  subject  in  the  same  light,  will  be  content  to  abide  the  event  of  that  mode 
of  decision,  and  spare  us  the  pain  of  a  second  departure  from  kindness  to  our  cap- 
tives :  confident  that  commiseration  to  our  prisoners  is  the  only  possible  motive  to 
which  can  be  candidly  ascribed,  in  the  present  actual  circumstances  of  the  war,  tho 
advice  we  are  now  about  to  give ;  tlie^board  does  advise  the  Governor  to  send  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  Hamilton,  Captain  Lamothe  and  Philip  Dejean,  to  Hanover  court- 
house, there  to  remain  at  large,  within  certain  reasonable  limits,  taking  the  parole  :a 
the  usual  manner.  The  Governor  orders  accordingly.  ARCH:  BLAIR,  C.  C. 

Ordered,  that  Major  John  Hay  be  sent,  also,  under  parole,  to  the  same  place 

ARCH:  BLAIR,  C  C 


CORRESPONDENCE.  231 

as  well  as  deed.  A  flag  sails  hence  to-morrow  to  New  York,  to 
negotiate  the  exchange  of  some  prisoners.  By  her,  I  have  written 
to  General  Phillips  on  this  subject,  and  enclosed  to  him  copies  of 
the  within ;  intending  it  as  an  answer  to  a  letter  I  received  from 
him  on  the  subject  of  Governor  Hamilton.  I  have  the  honor  to 
be,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

WlLLIAMSBURG,  Oct.  2,  1779. 

SIR, — Just  as  the  letter  accompanying  this  was  going  off,  Col- 
onel Mathews  arrived  on  parole  from  New  York,  by  the  way  of 
head-quarters,  bringing  your  Excellency's  letter,  on  his  subject, 
with  that  of  the  British  commissary  of  prisoners.  The  sub- 
ject is  of  great  importance,  and  I  must,  therefore,  reserve  myself 
to  answer  after  further  consideration.  Were  I  to  speak  from 
present  impressions,  I  should  say  it  was  happy  for  Governor  Ham- 
ilton, that  a  final  determination  of  his  fate  was  formed  before  this 
new  information.  As  the  enemy  have  released  Captain  Willing 
from  his  irons,  the  Executive  of  this  State  will  be  induced,  per- 
haps, not  to  alter  their  former  opinion.  But  it  is  impossible  they 
can  be  serious  in  attempting  to  bully  us  in  this  manner.  We 
have  too  many  of  their  subjects  in  our  power,  and,  too  much  iron 
to  clothe  them  with,  and  I  will  add,  too  much  resolution  to  avail 
ourselves  of  both,  to  fear  their  pretended  retaliation.  However, 
I  will  do  myself  the  honor  of  forwarding  to  your  Excellency  the 
ultimate  result  of  Council  on  this  subject. 

In  consequence  of  the  information  in  the  letter  from  the  British 
commissary  of  prisoners,  that  no  officers  of  the  Virginia  line 
should  be  exchanged  till  Governor  Hamilton's  affair  should  be 
settled,  we  have  stopped  our  flag,  which  was  just  hoisting  anchor 
with  a  load  of  privates  for  New  York.  I  must,  therefore,  ask 
the  favor  of  your  Excellency  to  forward  the  enclosed  by  flag, 


232  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

when  an  opportunity  offers,  as  I  suppose  General  Phillips  will  be 
in  New  York  before  it  reaches  you.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 
with  the  greatest  esteem, 

Your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

IN  COUNCIL,  Oct.  8,  1779. 

SIR, — In  mine  of  the  second  of  the  present  month,  written  in 
the  instant  of  Colonel  Mathews'  delivery  of  your  letter,  I  informed 
you  what  had  been  done  on  the  subject  of  Governor  Hamilton  and 
his  companions,  previous  to  that  moment.  I  now  enclose  you  an 
advice  of  Council,*  in  consequence  of  the  letter  you  were  pleased 
to  enclose  me,  from  the  British  commissary  of  prisoners,  with 
one  from  Lord  Rawdon ;  also  a  copy  of  my  letter  to  Colonel 
Mathews,  enclosing,  also,  the  papers  therein  named.  The  advice 
of  Council  to  allow  the  enlargement  of  prisoners,  on  their  giving 
a  proper  parole,  has  not  been  recalled,  nor  will  be,  I  suppose, 
unless  something  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  should  render  it  neces- 
sary. I  rather  expect,  however,  that  they  will  see  it  their  interest 
to  discontinue  this  kind  of  conduct.  I  am  afraid  I  shall  hereafter, 
perhaps,  be  obliged  to  give  your  Excellency  some  trouble  in  aiding 
me  to  obtain  information  of  the  future  usage  of  our  prisoners. 
I  shall  give  immediate  orders  for  having  in  readiness  every  engine 
which  the  enemy  have  contrived  for  the  destruction  of  our  un- 
happy citizens,  captured  by  them.  The  presentiment  of  these 
operations  is  shocking  beyond  expression.  I  pray  heaven  to  avert 
them ;  but  nothing  in  this  world  will  do  it,  but  a  proper  conduct 

*  IN  COUNCIL,  October  8th,  1779. 

The  Governor  ii  advised  to  take  proper  and  effectual  measures  for  knowing,  from 
time  to  time,  the  situation  and  treatment  of  our  prisoners  by  the  enemy,  and  to  ex- 
tend to  theirs,  with  us,  a  like  treatment,  in  every  circumstance ;  and,  also,  to  order  to  a 
proper  station,  the  prison  ship  fitted  up  on  recommendation  from  Congress,  for  the 
roception  and  confinement  of  such  prisoners  of  war  as  shall  be  sent  to  it. 

AKCH:  BLAIR,  C.  C. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  233 

in  the  enemy.     In  every  event,- 1  shall  resign  myself  to  the  hard 
necessity  under  which  I  shall  act. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  regard  and  esteem,  your  Ex- 
cellency's most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    COLONEL    MATHEWS. 

IN  CouNcir,,  October,  1779. 

SIR, — The  proceedings  respecting  Governor  Hamilton  and  his 
companions,  previous  to  your  arrival  here,  you  are  acquainted  with. 
For  your  more  precise  information,  I  enclose  you  the  advice  of 
Council,  of  June  the  16th,  of  that  of  August  the  28th,  another  of 
September  the  19th,  on  the  parole  tendered  them  the  1st  instant, 
and  Governor  Hamilton's  letter  of  the  same  day,  stating  his  objec- 
tions, in  which  he  persevered :  from  that  time  his  confinement  has 
become  a  voluntary  one.  You  delivered  us  your  letters  the  next 
day,  when  the  post  being  just  setting  out,  much  business  prevented 
the  Council  from  taking  them  into  consideration.  They  have  this 
day  attended  to  them,  and  found  their  resolution  expressed  in  the 
enclosed  advice,  bearing  date  this  day.  It  gives  us  great  pain  that 
any  of  our  countrymen  should  be  cut  off  from  the  society  of  their 
friends  and  tenderest  connections,  while  it  seems  as  if  it  was  in 
our  power  to  administer  relief.  But  we  trust  to  their  good  sense 
for  discerning,  and  their  spirit  for  bearing  up  against  the  fallacy  of 
this  appearance.  Governor  Hamilton  and  his  companions  were 
imprisoned  and  ironed,  1st.  In  retaliation  for  cruel  treatment  of 
our  captive  citizens  by  the  enemy  in  general.  2d.  For  the  bar- 
barous species  of  warfare  which  himself  and  his  savage  allies 
carried  on  in  our  western  frontier.  3d.  For  particular  acts  of 
barbarity,  of  which  he  himself  was  personally  guilty,  to  some  of 
our  citizens  in  his  power.  Any  one  of  these  charges  was  sufficient 
to  justify  the  measures  we  took.  Of  the  truth  of  the  first,  your- 
selves are  witnesses.  Your  situation,  indeed,  seems  to  have  been 
better  since  you  were  sent  to  New  York ;  but  reflect  on  what  you 
suffered  before  that,  and  knew  others  of  your  countrymen  to  suf- 


234  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

fer,  and  what  you  know  is  now  suffered  by  that  more  unhappy 
part  of  them  who  are  still  confined  on  board  the  prison  ships  of 
the  enemy.  Proofs  of  the  second  charge,  we  have  under  Hamil- 
ton's own  hand;  and  of  the  third,  as  sacred  assurances  as  human 
testimony  is  capable  of  giving.  Humane  conduct  on  our  part  was 
found  to  produce  no  effect ;  the  contrary,  therefore,  was  to  be 
tried.  If  it  produces  a  proper  lenity  to  our  citizens  in  captivity, 
it  will  have  the  effect  we  meant;  if  it  does  not,  we  shall  return  a 
severity  as  terrible  as  universal.  If  the  causes  of  our  rigor 
against  Hamilton  were  founded  in  truth,  that  rigor  was  just,  and 
would  not  give  right  to  the  enemy  to  commence  any  new  hos- 
tilities on  their  part ;  and  all  such  new  severities  are  to  be  con- 
sidered, not  as  retaliation,  but  as  original  and  unprovoked.  If 
those  causes  were  not  founded  in  truth,  they  should  have  denied 
them.  If,  declining  the  tribunal  of  truth  and  reason,  they  choose 
to  pervert  this  into  a  contest  of  cruelty  and  destruction,  we  will 
contend  with  them  in  that  line,  and  measure  out  misery  to  those 
in  our  power,  in  that  multiplied  proportion  which  the  advantage  of 
superior  numbers  enables  us  to  do.  We  shall  think  it  our  partic- 
ular duty,  after  the  information  we  gather  from  the  papers  which 
have  been  laid  before  us,  to  pay  very  constant  attention  to  your 
situation  and  that  of  your  fellow  prisoners.  We  hope  that  the 
prudence  of  the  enemy  will  be  your  protection  from  injury ;  and 
we  are  assured  that  your  regard  for  the  honor  of  your  country, 
would  not  permit  you  to  wish  we  should  surfer  ourselves  to  be 
bullied  into  an  acquiescence,  under  every  insult  and  cruelty  they 
may  choose  to  practice,  and  a  fear  to  retaliate,  lest  you  should  be 
made  to  experience  additional  sufferings.  Their  officers  and  sol- 
diers, in  our  hands  are  pledges  for  your  safety:  we  are  determined 
to  use  them  as  such.  Iron  will  be  retaliated  by  iron,  but  a  great, 
multiplication  on  distinguished  objects:  prison  ships  by  prison 
ships,  and  like  for  like  in  general.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  to  cover 
any  officer  who  has  acted,  or  shall  act  improperly.  They  say 
Captain  Willing  was  guilty  of  great  cruelties  at  the  Natches ;  if 
so,  they  do  right  in  punishing  him.  I  would  use  any  powers  I 
have,  for  the  punishment  of  any  officer  of  our  own,  who  should 


CORRESPONDENCE.  235 

be  guilty  of  excesses  unjustifiable  under  the  usages  of  civilized 
nations.  However,  I  do  not  find  myself  obliged  to  believe  the 
charge  against  Captain  Willing  to  be  true,  on  the  affirmation  of 
the  British  commissary,  because,  in  the  next  breath,  he  affirms  no 
cruelties  have  as  yet  been  inflicted  on  him.  Captain  Willing  has 
been  in  irons. 

I  beg  you  to  be  assured,  there  is  nothing,  consistent  with  the 
honor  of  your  country,  which  we  shall  not,  at  all  times,  be  ready 
to  do  for  the  relief  of  yourself  and  companions  in  captivity.  We 
know  that  ardent  spirit  and  hatred  for  tyranny,  which  brought 
you  into  your  present  situation,  will  enable  you  to  bear  up  against 
it  with  the  firmness  which  has  distinguished  you  as  a  soldier,  and 
to  look  forward  with  pleasure  to  the  day,  when  events  shall  take 
place,  against  which,  the  wounded  spirits  of  your  enemies  will 
find  no  comfort,  even  from  reflections  on  the  most  refined  of  the 
cruelties  with  which  they  have  glutted  themselves. 

I  am,  with  great  respect,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble 
servant. 


TO  HIS  EXCELLENCY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON. 


o,  November  28th,  1779. 

SIR,  —  Your  Excellency's  letter  on  the  discriminations  which 
have  been  heretofore  made,  between  the  troops  raised  within  this 
State,  and  considered  as  part  of  our  quota,  and  those  not  so  con- 
sidered, was  delivered  me  four  days  ago.  I  immediately  laid  it 
before  the  Assembly,  who  thereupon  came  to  the  resolution  I 
now  do  myself  the  honor  of  enclosing  you.  The  resolution  of 
Congress,  of  March  15th,  1779,  which  you  were  so  kind  as  to 
enclose,  was  never  known  in  this  State  till  a  few  weeks  ago, 
when  we  received  printed  copies  of  the  Journals  of  Congress.  It 
would  be  a  great  satisfaction  to  us,  to  receive  an  exact  return  of 
all  the  men  we  have  in  Continental  service,  who  come  within 
the  description  of  the  resolution,  together  with  our  State  troops 


236  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

in  Continental  service.  Colonel  Cabell  was  so  kind  as  to  send 
me  a  return  of  the  Continental  regiments  commanded  by  Lord 
Sterling,  of  the  first  and  second  Virginia  State  regiments,  and  of 
Colonel  Gist's  regiment.  Besides  these  are  the  following ;  viz., 
Colonel  Harrison's  regiment  of  artillery,  Colonel  Bayler's  horse, 
Colonel  Eland's  horse,  General  Scott's  new  levies,  part  of  which 
are  gone  to  Carolina,  and  part  are  here,  Colonel  Gibson's  regi- 
ment stationed  on  the  Ohio,  Heath  and  O'Hara's  independent  com- 
panies at  the  same  stations,  Colonel  Taylor's  regiment  of  guards 
to  the  Convention  troops :  of  these,  we  have  a  return.  There 
may,  possibly,  be  others  not  occurring  to  me.  A  return  of  all 
these  would  enable  us  to  see  what  proportion  of  the  Continental 
army  is  contributed  by  us.  We  have,  at  present,  very  pressing 
calls  to  send  additional  numbers  of  men  to  the  southward.  No 
inclination  is  wanting  in  either  the  Legislature  or  Executive,  to 
aid  them  or  strengthen  you ;  but  we  find  it  very  difficult  to  pro- 
cure men.  I  herewith  transmit  to  your  Excellency  some  recruit- 
ing commissions,  to  be  put  into  such  hands  as  you  may  think 
proper,  for  re-enlisting  such  of  our  soldiery  as  are  not  already  en- 
gaged for  the  war.  The  Act  of  Assembly,  authorizing  these  in- 
structions, requires  that  the  men  enlisted  should  be  reviewed  and 
received  by  an  officer  to  be  appointed  for  that  purpose  ;  a  caution 
less  necessary  in  the  case  of  men  now  actually  in  service,  and, 
therefore,  doubtless,  able  bodied,  than  in  the  raising  new  recruits. 
The  direction,  however,  goes  to  all  cases,  and,  therefore,  we  must 
trouble  your  Excellency  with  the  appointment  of  one  or  more 
officers  of  review.  Mr.  Moss,  our  agent,  receives  orders,  which 
accompany  this,  to  pay  the  bounty  money  and  recruiting  money, 
and  to  deliver  the  clothing.  We  have,  however,  certain  reason 
to  fear  he  has  not  any  great  sum  of  money  on  hand ;  and  it  is 
absolutely  out  of  our  power,  at  this  time,  to  supply  him,  or  to 
say,  with  certainty,  when  we  shall  be  able  to  do  it.  He  is  in- 
structed to  note  his  acceptances  under  the  draughts,  and  to  assure 
payment  as  soon  as  we  shall  have  it  in  our  power  to  furnish 
him,  as  the  only  substitute  for  money.  Your  Excellency's  direc- 
tions to  the  officer  of  review,  will  probably  procure  us  the  satis- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  237 

faction  of  being  informed,  from  time  to  time,  how  many  men 
shall  be  re-enlisted. 

By  Colonel  Mathews,  I  informed  your  Excellency  fully  of  the 
situation  of  Governor  Hamilton  and  his  companions.  Lamothe 
and  Dejean  have  given  their  paroles,  and  are  at  Hanover  Court- 
House :  Hamilton,  Hay,  and  others,  are  still  obstinate ;  therefore, 
still  in  close  confinement,  though  their  irons  have  never  been  on, 
since  your  second  letter  on  the  subject.  I  wrote  full  information 
of  this  matter  to  General  Phillips  also,  from  whom  I  had  received 
letters  on  the  subject.  I  cannot,  in  reason,  believe  that  the  enemy, 
on  receiving  this  information,  either  from  yourself  or  General 
Phillips,  will  venture  to  impose  any  new  cruelties  on  our  officers 
in  captivity  with  them.  Yet  their  conduct,  hitherto,  has  been 
most  successfully  prognosticated  by  reversing  the  conclusions  of 
right  reason.  It  is,  therefore,  my  duty,  as  well  as  it  was  my 
promise  to  the  Virginia  captives,  to  take  measures  for  discovering 
any  change  which  may  be  made  in  their  situation.  For  this 
purpose,  I  must  apply  for  your  Excellency's  interposition.  I 
doubt  not  but  you  have  an  established  mode  of  knowing,  at  all 
times,  through  your  commissary  of  prisoners,  the  precise  state  of 
those  in  the  power  of  the  enemy.  I  must,  therefore,  pray  you 
to  put  into  motions,  any  such  means  you  have,  for  obtaining 
knowledge  of  the  situation  of  the  Virginia  officers  in  captivity. 
If  you  should  think  proper,  as  I  could  wish,  to  take  upon  your- 
self to  retaliate  any  new  sufferings  which  may  be  imposed  on 
them,  it  will  be  more  likely  to  have  due  weight,  and  to  restore 
the  unhappy  on  both  sides,  to  that  benevolent  treatment  for 
which  all  should  wish. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c.,  &c. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

WILLIAMSBURG,  December  10,  1779. 

SIR, — I  take  the  liberty  of  putting  under  cover  to  your  Excel 
lency,  some  letters  to  Generals  Phillips  and  Reidezel,  uninformed 


238  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

whether  they  are  gone  into  New  York  or  not,  and  knowing  that 
you  can  best  forward  them  in  either  case. 

I  also  trouble  you  with  a  letter  from  the  master  of  the  flag  in 
this  State,  to  the  British  commissary  of  prisoners  in  New  York, 
trusting  it  will  thus  be  more  certainly  conveyed  than  if  sent  to 
Mr.  Adams.  It  is  my  wish  that  the  British  commissary  should 
return  his  answer  through  your  Excellency,  or  your  commissary 
of  prisoners,  and  that  they  should  not  propose,  under  this  pretext, 
to  send  another  flag,  as  the  mission  of  the  present  flag  is  not  un- 
attended with  circumstances  of  suspicion ;  and  a  certain  infor- 
mation of  the  situation  of  ourselves  and  our  allies  here,  might 
influence  the  measures  of  the  enemy. 

Perhaps  your  commissary  of  prisoners  can  effect  the  former 
method  of  answer. 

I  enclose  to  you  part  of  an  Act  of  Assembly  ascertaining  the 
quantity  of  land  which  shall  be  allowed  to  the  officers  and  sol- 
diers at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  providing  means  of  keeping 
that  country  vacant  which  has  been  allotted  for  them. 

I  am  advised  to  ask  your  Excellency's  attention  to  the  case  of 
Colonel  Bland,  late  commander  of  the  barracks  in  Albemarle. 
When  that  gentleman  was  appointed  to  that  command,  he  attended 
the  Executive  here,  and  informed  them,  he  must  either  decline 
it,  or  be  supported  in  such  a  way  as  would  keep  up  that  respect 
which  was  essential  to  his  command ;  without,  at  the  same  time, 
ruining  his  private  fortune. 

The  Executive  were  sensible  he  would  be  exposed  to  great 
and  unavoidable  expense  :  they  observed,  his  command  would  be 
in  a  department  separate  from  any  other,  and  that  he  actually  re- 
lieved a  Major  General  from  the  same  service.  They  did  not 
think  themselves  authorized  to  say  what  should  be  done  in  this 
case,  but  undertook  to  represent  the  matter  to  Congress,  and,  in 
the  meantime,  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  he  ought  to  be  allowed 
a  decent  table.  On  this  he  undertook  the  office,  and  in  the  course 
of  it  incurred  expenses  which  seemed  to  have  been  unavoidable, 
unless  he  would  have  lived  in  such  a  way  as  is  hardly  reconcila- 
ble to  the  spirit  of  an  officer,  or  the  reputation  of  those  in  whose 


UURRESPONDENCE.  239 

service  he  is.  Governor  Henry  wrote  on  the  subject  to  Congress ; 
Colonel  Bland  did  the  same ;  hut  we  learn  they  have  concluded 
the  allowance  to  be  unprecedented,  and  inadmissible  in  the  case 
of  an  officer  of  his  rank.  The  commissaries,  on  this,  have 
called  on  Colonel  Bland  for  reimbursement.  A  sale  of  his  estate 
was  about  to  take  place,  when  we  undertook  to  recommend  to 
them  to  suspend  their  demand,  till  we  could  ask  the  favor  of  you 
to  advocate  this  matter  so  far  with  Congress,  as  you  may  think 
it  right ;  otherwise  the  ruin  of  a  very  worthy  officer  must  in- 
evitably follow. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect  and  esteem. 
Your  Excellency's  most  obedient  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

WILLI.AMSBURO,  February  10,  1780. 

SIR, — It  is  possible  you  may  have  heard,  that  in  the  course  of 
last  summer  an  expedition  was  meditated,  by  our  Colonel  Clarke, 
against  Detroit :  that  he  had  proceeded  so  far  as  to  rendezvous  a 
considerable  body  of  Indians,  I  believe  four  or  five  thousand,  at 
St.  Vincennes ;  but,  being  disappointed  in  the  number  of  whites 
he  expected,  and  not  choosing  to  rely  principally  on  the  Indians, 
he  was  obliged  to  decline  it.  We  have  a  tolerable  prospect  of 
reinforcing  him  this  spring,  to  the  number  which  he  thinks  suffi- 
cient for  the  enterprise.  We  have  informed  him  of  this,  and  left 
him  to  decide  between  this  object,  and  that  of  giving  vigorous 
chastisement  to  those  tribes  of  Indians,  whose  eternal  hostilities 
have  proved  them  incapable  of  living  on  friendly  terms  with  us. 
It  is  our  opinion,  his  inclination  will  lead  him  to  determine  on 
the  former.  The  reason  of  my  laying  before  your  Excellency 
this  matter,  is,  that  it  has  been  intimated  to  me  that  Colonel 
Broadhead  is  meditating  a  similar  expedition.  I  wished,  there- 
fore, to  make  you  acquainted  with  what  we  had  in  contempla- 
tion. The  enterprising  arid  energetic  genius  of  Clarke  is  not  al- 


240  JEFFERSON'S   WORKS. 

together  unknown  to  you.  You  also  know  (what  I  am  a  stran- 
ger to)  the  abilities  of  Broadhead,  and  the  particular  force  with 
which  you  will  be  able  to  arm  him  for  such  an  expedition.  We 
wish  the  most  hopeful  means  should  be  used  for  removing  so 
uneasy  a  thorn  from  our  side.  As  yourself,  alone,  are  acquainted 
with  all  the  circumstances  necessary  for  well-informed  decision, 
I  am  to  ask  the  favor  of  your  Excellency,  if  you  should  think 
Broadhead's  undertaking  it  most  likely  to  produce  success,  that 
you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  intimate  to  us  to  divert  Clarke  to  the 
other  object,  which  is  also  important  to  this  State.  It  will,  of 
course,  have  weight  with  you,  in  forming  your  determination, 
that  our  prospect  of  strengthening  Clarke's  hands,  sufficiently,  is 
not  absolutely  certain.  It  may  be  necessary,  perhaps,  to  inform 
you,  that  these  two  officers  cannot  act  together,  which  excludes 
the  hopes  of  ensuring  success  by  a  joint  expedition. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  sincere  esteem,  your 
Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    GENERAL    BE    RlEDESEL.* 

RICHMOND,  May  3,  1780. 

SIR, — Your  several  favors  of  December  4th,  February  10th,  and 
March  30th,  are  come  duly  to  hand.  I  sincerely  condole  with 
Madame  de  Riedesel  on  the  birth  of  a  daughter,  but  receive 
great  pleasure  from  the  information  of  her  recovery,  as  every  cir- 
cumstance of  felicity  to  her,  yourself  or  family,  is  interesting  to 
us.  The  little  attentions  you  are  pleased  to  magnify  so  much, 

[*  General  de  Riedesel,  who  commanded  the  Hessian  troops,  was  among  tlic  prison- 
era  removed  to  Albetnarle,  in  1779,  after  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  at  Saratoga. 
Mr.  Jefferson  did  everything  in  his  power  to  render  the  situation  of  these  prisoners 
comfortable,  and  the  educated  and  refined  officers  were  often  his  guests.  Among  the 
number  was  General  de  Riedesel,  who  seems  to  have  entertained  a  grateful  sense  of 
the  kindness  extended  to  him.  The  example  of  Mr.  Jefferson  was  followed  by  most 
of  the  wealthy  gentlemen  of  the  surrounding  country  ;  the  officers,  both  English  and 
German,  have  borne  testimony  to  the  polite  and  hospitable  attentions  which  they 
received  in  Virginia  ] — ED. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  241 

never  deserved  a  mention  or  thought.  My  mortification  was, 
that  the  peculiar  situation  in  which  we  were,  put  it  out  of  our  power 
to  render  your  stay  here  more  comfortable.  I  am  sorry  to  learn 
that  the  negotiations  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners  have  proved 
abortive,  as  well  from  a  desire  to  see  the  necessary  distresses  of 
war  alleviated  in  every  possible  instance,  as  that  I  am  sensible 
how  far  yourself  and  family  are  interested  in  it.  Against  this, 
however,  is  to  be  weighed  the  possibility  that  we  may  again  have 
a  pleasure  we  should  otherwise,  perhaps,  never  have  had ;  that 
of  seeing  you  again.  Be  this  as  it  may,  opposed  as  we  happen 
to  be  in  our  sentiments  of  duty  and  honor,  and  anxious  for  con- 
trary events,  I  shall,  nevertheless,  sincerely  rejoice  in  every  cir- 
cumstance of  happiness  or  safety,  which  may  attend  you  per- 
sonally ;  and  when  a  termination  of  the  present  contest  shall 
put  it  in  my  power  to  declare  to  you  more  unreservedly,  how 
sincere  are  the  sentiments  of  esteem  and  respect  (wherein  Mrs. 
Jefferson  joins  me)  which  I  entertain  for  Madame  de  Riedesel 
and  yourself,  and  with  which  I  am,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  June  11,  1780 

SIR, — Major  Galvan,  as  recommended  by  your  Excellency,  was 
dispatched  to  his  station  without  delay,  and  has  been  furnished 
with  everything  he  desired,  as  far  as  we  were  able.  The  line 
of  expresses  formed  between  us,  is  such  as  will  communicate  in- 
telligence from  one  to  the  other  in  twenty-three  hours.  I  have 
forwarded  to  him  information  of  our  disasters  in  the  South,  as 
they  have  come  to  me. 

Our  intelligence  from  the  southward  is  most  lamentably  de- 
fective.   Though  Charleston  has  been  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
a  month,  we  hear  nothing  of  their  movements  which  can  be  re- 
lied on.     Rumors  are,  that  they  are  penetrating  northward.     To 
VOL.  i.  16 


242  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

remedy  this  defect,  I  shall  immediately  establish  a  line  of  ex- 
presses from  hence  to  the  neighborhood  of  their  army,  and  send 
thither  a  sensible,  judicious  person,  to  give  us  information  of  their 
movements.  This  intelligence  will,  I  hope,  be  conveyed  to  us 
at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  in  the  twenty-four 
hours.  They  set  out  to  their  stations  to-morrow.  I  wish  it 
were  possible,  that  a  like  speedy  line  of  communication  could 
be  formed  from  hence  to  your  Excellency's  head-quarters.  Per- 
fect and  speedy  information  of  what  is  passing  in  the  South, 
might  put  it  in  your  power,  perhaps,  to  frame  your  measures  by 
theirs.  There  is  really  nothing  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the 
enemy,  northward,  but  the  cautious  principles  of  the  military  art. 
North  Carolina  is  without  arms.  We  do  not  abound.  Those 
we  have,  are  freely  imparted  to  them,  but  such  is  the  state  of 
their  resources,  that  they  have  not  been  able  to  move  a  single 
musket  from  this  State  to  theirs.  All  the  wagons  we  can  collect, 
have  been  furnished  to  the  Marquis  de  Kalb,  and  are  assembled 
for  the  march  of  twenty-five  hundred  men,  under  General 
Stevens,  of  Culpeper,  who  will  move  on  the  10th  instant.  I 
have  written  to  Congress  to  hasten  supplies  of  arms  and  military 
stores  for  the  Southern  States,  and  particularly  to  aid  us  with 
cartridge-paper  and  boxes,  the  want  of  which  articles,  small  as 
they  are,  renders  our  stores  useless.  The  want  of  money  cramps 
every  effort.  This  will  be  supplied  by  the  most  unpalatable  of 
all  substitutes,  force.  Your  Excellency  will  readily  conceive, 
that,  after  tne  loss  of  one  army,  our  eyes  are  turned  towards  the 
other,  and  that  we  comfort  ourselves,  if  any  aids  can  be  fur- 
nished by  you,  without  defeating  the  operations  more  beneficial 
to  the  general  union,  they  will  be  furnished.  At  the  same  time, 
I  am  happy  to  find  that  the  wishes  of  the  people  go  no  further, 
as  far  as  I  have  an  opportunity  of  learning  their  sentiments. 
Could  arms  be  furnished,  I  think  this  State  and  North  Carolina 
would  embody  from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand  militia,  immediately, 
and  more  if  necessary. 

I  hope,  ere  long,  to  be  able  to  give  you  a  more  certain  state- 
ment of  the  enemy's  as  well  as  our  situation,  which  I  shall  not 


CORRESPONDENCE.  243 

fail  to  do.     I  enclose  you  a  letter  from  Major  Galvan,  being  the 
second  I  have  forwarded  to  you. 

With  sentiments  of  the  most  perfect  esteem  and  respect,  I 
have  the  honor  to  be  your  Excellency's 

Most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO  HIS  EXCELLENCY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  July  2,  I1?  80. 

SIR, — I  have  received  from  the  Committee  of  Congress,  at 
head-quarters,  three  letters  calling  for  aids  of  men  and  provis- 
ions. I  beg  leave  to  refer  you  to  my  letter  to  them,  of  this 
date,  on  those  subjects.  I  thought  it  necessary,  however,  to 
suggest  to  you  the  preparing  an  arrangement  of  officers  for  the 
men  ;  for,  though  they  are  to  supply  our  battalions,  yet,  as  our 
whole  line  officers,  almost,  are  in  captivity,  I  suppose  some 
temporary  provision  must  be  made.  We  cheerfully  transfer  to 
you  every  power  which  the  Executive  might  exercise  on  this 
occasion.  As  it  is  possible  you  may  cast  your  eye  on  the  un- 
employed officers  now  within  the  State,  I  write  to  General 
Muhlenburg,  to  send  you  a  return  of  them.  I  think  the  men 
will  be  rendezvoused  within  the  present  month.  The  bill,  in- 
deed, for  raising  them  is  not  actually  passed,  but  it  is  in  its  last 
stage,  and  no  opposition  to  any  essential  parts  of  it.  I  will  take 
care  to  notify  you  of  its  passage. 

I  have,  with  great  pain,  perceived  your  situation ;  and,  the 
more  so,  as,  being  situated  between  two  fires,  a  division  of  sen- 
timent has  arisen,  both  in  Congress  and  here,  as  to  which  the 
resources  of  this  country  should  be  sent.  The  removal  of  Gen- 
eral Clinton  to  the  northward,  must,  of  course,  have  great  in- 
fluence on  the  determination  of  this  question ;  and  I  have  no 
doubt  but  considerable  aids  may  be  drawn  hence,  for  your  army, 
unless  a  larger  one  should  be  embodied  in  the  South,  than  the 
force  of  the  enemy  there  seems  to  call  for.  I  have  the  honor 


244  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

to  be,  with  every  sentiment  of  respect  and  esteem,  your  Excel- 
lency's 

Most  obedient  humble  servant.* 


TO    GENERAL    EDWARD    STEVENS. 

RICHMOND,  August  4,  1780. 

SIR, — Your  several  favors  of  July  the  16th,  21st,  and  22d, 
are  now  before  me.  Our  smiths  are  engaged  in  making  five 
hundred  axes  and  some  tomahawks  for  General  Gates.  About 
one  hundred  of  these  will  go  by  the  wagons  now  taking  in  their 
loads.  As  these  are  for  the  army  in  general,  no  doubt  but  you 
will  participate  of  them.  A  chest  of  medicine  was  made  up  for 
you  in  Williamsburg,  and  by  a  strange  kind  of  forgetfulness, 
the  vessel  ordered  to  bring  that,  left  it  and  brought  the  rest  of  the 
shop.  It  is  sent  for  again,  and  I  am  not  without  hopes  will  be 
here  in  time  to  go  by  the  present  wagons.  They  will  carry 
some  ammunition  and  the  axes,  and  will  make  up  their  load 
with  spirits.  Tents,  I  fear,  cannot  be  got  in  this  country ;  we 
have,  however,  sent  out  powers  to  all  the  trading  towns  here,  to 

*  [The  following  memorandum  is  inserted  in  the  MS.  at  the  close  of  this  letter.] 

FEMALE  CONTRIBUTIONS,  IN  AID  OF  THE  WAR,  PROBABLY  IN  1780. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Gary,  of  Scotchtown,  a  watch-chain,  cost  £7  sterling. 

Mrs. Ambler,  five  gold  rings. 

Mrs.  Rebecca  Ambler,  three  gold  rings. 

Mrs. Nicholas,  a  diamond  drop. 

Mrs.  Griffin,  of  Dover,  ten  half  joes. 

Mrs.  Gilmer,  five  guineas. 

Mrs.  Anne  Ramsay  (for  Fairfax),  one  half  joe,  three  guineas,  three  pistereens,  one  bit. 

Do.  for  do.  paper  money,  bundle  No.  1,  twenty  thousand  dollars,  No.  2,  twenty -seven 
thousand  dollars,  No.  3,  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  No.  4,  thirteen  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  dollars  and  one-third. 

Mrs.  Lewis  (for  Albermarle),  £1559  8s.  paper  money. 

Mrs.  Weldon,  £39  18s.  new,  instead  of  £1600,  old  paper  money. 

Mrs.  Blackburn  (for  Prince  William),  seven  thousand  five  hundred  and  six  dollars, 
paper  money. 

Mrs.  Randolph,  the  younger,  of  Chatsworth,  eight  hundred  dollars. 

Mrs.  Fitzhugh  and  others,  £558. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  245 

take  it  wherever  they  can  find  it.  I  write  to  General  Gates,  to 
try  whether  the  duck  in  North  Carolina  cannot  be  procured  by 
the  Executive  of  that  State  on  Continental  account ;  for,  surely, 
the  whole  army,  as  well  our  militia  as  the  rest,  is  Continental 
The  arms  you  have  to  spare  may  be  delivered  to  General 
Gates's  order,  taking  and  furnishing  us  with  proper  vouchers. 
We  shall  endeavor  to  send  our  drafts  armed.  I  cannot  con- 
ceive how  the  arms  before  sent  could  have  got  into  so  very  bad 
order  ;  they  certainly  went  from  hence  in  good  condition.  You 
wish  to  know  how  far  the  property  of  this  State,  in  your  hands, 
is  meant  to  be  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  Commander-in- 
chief.  Arms  and  military  stores,  we  mean  to  be  perfectly  sub- 
ject to  him.  The  provisions  going  from  this  country  will  be 
for  the  whole  army.  If  we  can  get  any  tents,  they  must  be  ap- 
propriated to  the  use  of  our  own  troops.  Medicine,  sick  stores, 
spirits  and  such  things,  we  expect  shall  be  on  the  same  footing 
as  with  the  northern  army.  There,  you  know,  each  State  fur- 
nishes its  own  troops  with  these  articles,  and,  of  course,  has  an 
exclusive  right  to  what  is  furnished.  The  money  put  into  your 
hands,  was  meant  as  a  particular  resource  for  any  extra  wants 
of  our  own  troops,  yet,  in  case  of  great  distress,  you  would  prob- 
ably not  see  the  others  suffer  without  communicating  part  of  it 
for  their  use.  We  debit  Congress  with  this  whole  sum.  There 
can  be  nothing  but  what  is  right  in  your  paying  Major  Mazaret's 
troops  out  of  it.  I  wish  the  plan  you  have  adopted  for  securing 
a  return  of  the  arms  from  the  militia,  may  answer.  I  apprehend 
any  man  who  has  a  good  gun  on  his  shoulder,  would  agree  to 
keep  it,  and  have  the  worth  of  it  deducted  out  of  his  pay,  more 
especially,  when  the  receipt  of  the  pay  is  at  some  distance. 
What  would  you  think  of  notifying  to  them,  further,  that  a 
proper  certificate  that  they  are  discharged,  and  have  returned 
their  arms,  will  be  required  before  any  pay  is  issued  to  them. 
A  roll,  kept  and  forwarded,  of  those  so  discharged,  and  who 
have  delivered  up  their  arms,  would  supply  accidental  losses 
of  their  certificates.  We  are  endeavoring  to  get  bayonet  belts 
made.  The  State  quarter-master  affirms  the  cartouch  boxes 


246  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

sent  from  this  place  (nine  hundred  and  fifty-nine  in  number), 
were  all  in  good  condition.  I  therefore  suppose  the  three  hun- 
dred you  received  in  such  very  bad  order,  must  have  gone  from 
the  Continental  quarter-master  at  Petersburg,  or,  perhaps,  have 
been  pillaged,  on  the  road,  of  their  flaps,  to  mend  shoes,  &c.  I 
must  still  press  the  return  of  as  many  wagons  as  possible.  All 
you  will  send,  shall  be  loaded  with  spirits,  or  something  else  for 
the  army.  By  their  next  return,  we  shall  have  a  good  deal  of 
bacon  collected.  The  enclosed  is  a  copy  of  what  was  reported 
to  me,  as  heretofore  sent  by  the  wagons.  I  am,  Sir,  with  the 
greatest  esteem, 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO 


RICHMOND,  August  4,  1780. 

SIR, — Your  several  favors  of  July  19,  21,  and  22,  are  now  be- 
fore me.  I  have  enquired  into  the  state  of  the  cartouch  boxes 
which  were  sent  from  our  magazine.  The  Quartermaster  as- 
sures me  they  were  in  very  good  order.  I  must,  therefore,  con- 
clude, that  the  300  complained  of  by  General  Stevens,  were 
some  sent  from  Petersburg  by  the  Continental  Quartermaster,  or 
that  they  were  pillaged  of  the  leather  on  the  way,  to  mend  shoes, 
&c.  We  had  hopes  of  getting  2,000  from  the  Board  of  War, 
but  we  got  only  about  600,  and  they  are  said  to  be  unfit  for  use. 
We  are  engaged  in  making  bayonet  belts,  which  shall  be  for- 
warded, but  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  procure  leather.  The 
consumption  of  beef  by  your  army  will,  I  hope,  remove  the 
want  of  this  article  another  year.  1  have  ordered  the  500  axes 
you  desired,  with  some  tomahawks,  to  be  made.  They  turn 
out  about  20  a  day.  About  100  will  go  on  by  the  wagons  Gen- 

[*  This  letter  has  no  direction,  but  was  probably  addressed  to  General  Gates,  then 
.Commanding  the  Southern  army.  It  was  written  by  Mr.  Jefferson  in  his  character 
of  Governor  of  Virginia,  to  which  office  he  was  elected  on  the  1st  of  June,  1779. — 
ED.] 


CORRESPONDENCE.  247 

eral  Stevens  sent  us,  which  are  now  loading  at  this  place. 
These  wagons  will  carry  some  ammunition  and  spirit.  A  vessel 
with  about  3,000  stand  of  arms,  coming  down  the  bay  for  the 
use  of  your  army,  was  driven  by  privateers  into  Wicomico.  We 
are  endeavoring  to  get  them  forwarded  either  by  land  or  water. 
The  want  of  wagons  will  greatly  retard  them.  What  is  to  be 
done  for  tents,  I  know  not.  I  am  assured  that  very  little  duck 
can  be  got  in  this  country.  Whatever  there  is,  however,  will 
be  produced  under  a  commission  gone  out  for  that  purpose. 
The  duck  you  speak  of  as  being  in  North  Carolina,  cannot  be 
procured  by  that  State,  on  Continental  account,  for  the  use  of 
the  army.  I  communicated  your  orders  to  Colonel  Finnic,  and 
to  Colonel  Buford,  and  have  directed  proper  applications  for  the 
repairs  of  the  bridges,  &c.,  you  mention.  Arms  are  ready  for 
Buford's,  Davies's,  and  Gibson's  men.  Gibson's  men  are  clothed, 
and  wait  only  to  be  paid,  which  will  be  done  within  the  course 
of  a  week.  Clothing  has  been  issued  some  time  for  the  others, 
which  is  making  up  under  the  superintendence  of  Colonel 
Davies.  They  are  utterly  destitute  of  blankets,  and  I  fear  we 
shall  be  unable  to  get  any.  Brent's  infantry  are  but  30,  and 
cannot  be  sent  on  without  bringing  on  disagreeable  disputes 
about  rank  between  his  officers  and  Gibson's.  To  silence  these, 
the  march  of  his  men  has  been  countermanded.  Colonel  Finnic 
informs  me,  that  Major  Lee's  infantry  has  been  sent  back  by 
special  orders.  We  have  ordered  243  horses  to  be  purchased  for 
Colonels  White  and  Washington.  The  orders  to  Mr.  Lewis  to 
purchase  beef  in  Carolina  were  given  by  the  Continental  Com- 
missary, so  long  ago  as  last  winter,  when  it  was  not  foreseen 
there  would  be  such  a  call  for  it  in  that  country.  Having  no 
other  means  of  conveying  a  letter  to  him,  I  take  the  liberty  of 
putting  one  under  cover  to  you,  with  instructions  to  him  to  dis- 
continue his  purchases  in  North  Carolina,  and  to  furnish  you 
with  so  much  of  the  beef  he  has,  as  you  may  think  necessary. 
It  would  be  expedient  for  you  to  leave  in  his  hands  whatever 
quantity  is  not  absolutely  necessary  for  your  army  ;  as,  depend- 
ing on  that,  no  other  provision  has  been  made  for  the  post  at 


248  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Charlottesville,  and  you  know  our  country  so  well  as  to  foresee 
that  a  port,  at  which  5,000  rations  a  day  are  issued,  cannot  be 
fed  by  the  purchase  of  the  day. 

We  have  reason  to  believe  the  French  fleet  arrived  at  New- 
port the  10th  ult.,  but  it  is  not  certain.  Admiral  Graves,  with 
six  sail  of  the  line,  is  certainly  arrived  at  New  York. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    MAJOR-GENERAL    GATES. 

RICHMOND,  August  15,  1780. 

SIR, — Your  favor  of  August  the  3d,  is  just  now  put  into  my 
hand.  Those  formerly  received  have  been  duly  answered,  and 
my  replies  will,  no  doubt,  have  reached  you  before  this  date. 
My  last  letter  to  you  was  by  Colonel  Drayton. 

I  spoke  fully  with  you  on  the  difficulty  of  procuring  wagons 
here,  when  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you,  and  for  that  reason 
pressed  the  sending  back  as  many  as  possible.  One  brigade  of 
twelve  has  since  returned,  and  is  again  on  its  way  with  medi- 
cine, military  stores,  and  spirit.  Any  others  which  come,  and 
as  fast  as  they  come,  shall  be  returned  to  you  with  spirit  and 
bacon.  I  have  ever  been  informed,  that  the  very  plentiful  har- 
vests of  North  Carolina,  would  render  the  transportation  of  flour 
from  this  State  as  unnecessary  as  it  would  be  tedious,  and  that, 
in  this  point  of  view,  the  wagons  should  carry  hence  only  the 
articles  before  mentioned,  which  are  equally  wanting  with  you. 
Finding  that  no  great  number  of  wagons  is  likely  to  return  to 
us,  we  will  immediately  order  as  many  more  to  be  bought  and 
sent  on,  as  we  possibly  can.  But,  to  prevent  too  great  expecta- 
tions, I  must  again  repeat,  that  I  fear  no  great  number  can  be 
got.  I  do  assure  you,  however,  that  neither  attention  nor  ex- 
pense shall  be  spared,  to  forward  to  you  every  support  for  which 
we  can  obtain  means  of  transportation.  You  have,  probably, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  249 

received  our  order  on  Colonel  Lewis,  to  deliver  you  any  of  the 
beeves  he  may  have  purchased. 

Tents,  I  fear,  it  is  in  vain  to  expect,  because  there  is  not  in 
this  country  stuff  to  make  them.  We  have  agents  and  commis- 
sioners in  constant  pursuit  of  stuff,  but  hitherto  researches  have 
been  fruitless.  Your  order  to  Colonel  Carrington  shall  be  im- 
mediately communicated.  A  hundred  copies  of  the  proclama- 
tion shall  also  be  immediately  printed  and  forwarded  to  you. 
General  Muhlenburg  is  come  to  this  place,  which  he  will  now 
make  his  head-quarters.  I  think  he  will  be  able  to  set  into  mo- 
tion, within  a  very  few  days,  five  hundred  regulars,  who  are 
now  equipped  for  their  march,  except  some  blankets  still  want- 
ing, but  I  hope  nearly  procured  and  ready  to  be  delivered. 

I  sincerely  congratulate  you  on  your  successful  advances  on  the 
enemy,  and  wish  to  do  everything  to  second  your  enterprises, 
which  the  situation  of  this  country,  and  the  means  and  powers 
put  into  my  hands,  enable  me  to  do. 

I  am,  Sir,  with  sincere  respect  and  esteem, 

Your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  September  3,  1780. 

SIR, — As  I  know  the  anxieties  you  must  have  felt,  since  the 
late  misfortune  to  the  South,  and  our  latter  accounts  have  not 
been  quite  so  favorable  as  the  first,  I  take  the  liberty  of  enclosing 
you  a  statement  of  this  unlucky  affair,  taken  from  letters  from 
General  Gates,  General  Stevens,  and  Governor  Nash,  and,  as  to 
some  circumstances,  from  an  officer  who  was  in  the  action.* 
Another  army  is  collecting  ;  this  amounted,  on  the  23d  ultimo,  to 
between  four  and  five  thousand  men,  consisting  of  about  five 
hundred  Maryland  regulars,  a  few  of  Hamilton's  artillery,  and 

[*  The   circumstances  of  the  defeat  of  General  Gates's  army,  near  Camden,  in 
August,  1780,  being  of  historical  notoriety,  this  statement  is  omitted.] 


250  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Portersfield  corps,  Armand's  legion,  such  of  the  Virginia  militia 
as  had  been  reclaimed,  and  about  three  thousand  North  Carolina 
militia,  newly  embodied.  We  are  told  they  will  increase  these 
to  eight  thousand.  Our  new  recruits  will  rendezvous  in  this 
State  between  the  10th  and  25th  instant.  We  are  calling  out 
two  thousand  militia,  who,  I  think,  however,  will  not  be  got  to 
Hillsborough  till  the  25th  of  October.  About  three  hundred 
and  fifty  regulars  marched  from  Chesterfield  a  week  ago.  Fifty 
march  to-morrow,  and  there  will  be  one  hundred  or  one  hundred 
and  fifty  more  from  that  post,  when  they  can  be  cleared  of  the 
hospital.  This  is  as  good  a  view  as  I  can  give  you  of  the 
force  we  are  endeavoring  to  collect ;  but  they  are  unarmed. 
Almost  the  whole  small  arms  seems  to  have  been  lost  in  the  late 
rout.  There  are  here,  on  their  way  southward,  three  thousand 
stand  of  arms,  sent  by  Congress,  and  we  have  still  a  few  in  our 
magazine.  I  have  written  pressingly,  as  the  subject  \vell  de- 
serves, to  Congress,  to  send  immediate  supplies,  and  to  think  of 
forming  a  magazine  here,  that  in  case  of  another  disaster,  we 
may  not  be  left  without  all  means  of  opposition. 

I  enclosed  to  your  Excellency,  some  time  ago,  a  resolution  of 
the  Assembly,  instructing  us  to  send  a  quantity  of  tobacco  to 
New  York  for  the  relief  of  our  officers  there,  and  asking  the 
favor  of  you  to  obtain  permission.  Having  received  no  an- 
swer, I  fear  my  letter  or  your  answer  has  miscarried.  I  therefore 
take  the  liberty  of  repeating  my  application  to  you. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  profound  respect,  your 
Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    EDWARD    STEVENS. 

RICHMOND,  September  3,  1780. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  sincerely  condole  with  you  on  our  late  misfor- 
tune,* which  sits  the  heavier  on  my  mind  as  being  produced  by 

[*  Battle  of  Camden,  August  16th,  1780.] 


CORRESPONDENCE.  251 

my  own  countrymen.  Instead  of  considering  what  is  past,  how- 
ever, we  are  to  look  forward  and  prepare  for  the  future.  I  write 
General  Gates  and  Governor  Nash  as  to  supplies  and  reinforce- 
ments. Another  body  of  2,000  militia  are  ordered  to  you  to  ren- 
dezvous at  Hillsborough,  on  the  25th  of  October.  They  come 
from  the  middle  and  north  counties,  beyond  and  adjoining  the 
Blue  Ridge.  I  am  told,  also,  that  a  spirit  of  raising  volunteers  is 
springing  up.  The  truth  of  this,  however,  is  not  certainly  known, 
nor  can  its  success  be  depended  on.  Governor  Nash  writes  me 
that  400  wagons  were-  lost.  An  officer  here,  however,  thinks 
they  are  not.  This,  indeed,  would  be  a  heavy  loss,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  small  arms.  We  shall  exert  every  nerve  to  assist  you 
in  every  way  in  our  power,  being,  as  we  are,  without  any  money 
in  the  Treasury,  or  any  prospect  of  more  till  the  Assembly  meets 
in  October. 

I  am  with  great  esteem  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble 
servant. 


TO  THE  HON.  MAJOR  GENERAL  GATES. 

RICHMOND,  September  11,  1780. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  bill  for  £54,712  in  favor  of  Mallette,  has 
been  duly  honored,  that  for  £95,288  we  shall  also  discharge  ; 
another  bill  (which  being  delivered  back  to  be  presented  at  the 
end  of  the  ten  days,  I  cannot  recollect  either  the  name  of  the 
holder  or  the  sum)  has  been  accepted.  We  are  now  without 
one  shilling  in  the  treasury,  or  a  possibility  of  having  it  recruited 
till  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  which  takes  place  on  the  loth 
of  the  next  month.  In  this  condition  Mr.  Duncan  Ochiltree 
found  us  when  he  delivered  your  letter  of  the  5th  instant,  and 
draught  for  £100,000  in  favor  of  Col.  Polk.  The  only  thing  in 
our  power,  after  stating  to  him  our  situation,  was  to  assure  him 
that  it  should  be  paid  as  soon  as  we  should  be  enabled  to  do  it 
by  the  Assembly,  which  I  flatter  myself  will  be  as  soon  as  they 


252  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

meet.  Of  this  I  am  to  notify  him,  that  he  may  know  when  to 
call  for  payment.  I  shall  he  very  glad  if  you  can  accommodate, 
to  the  same  circumstances,  any  other  draughts  you  may  find  it 
necessary  to  make  on  me. 

We  have  sent  a  Mr.  Paton,  Commissary  for  the  State,  to  collect 
beeves  in  our  southern  counties,  and  forward  them  to  your  army. 
He  has  orders  to  keep  up  a  proper  correspondence  with  your 
Commissary. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  the  greatest  esteem  and  respect, 
Sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO  GENERAL  EDWARD  STEVENS. 

RICHMOND,  September  12,  1780. 

SIR, — Your  letters  of  August  27th  and  30th  are  now  before 
me.  The  subsequent  desertions  of  your  militia  have  taken  away 
the  necessity  of  answering  the  question,  How  they  shall  be 
armed  ?  On  the  contrary,  as  there  must  now  be  a  surplus  of 
arms,  I  am  in  hopes  you  will  endeavor  to  reserve  them,  as  we 
have  not  here  a  sufficient  number  by  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thou- 
sand for  the  men  who  will  march  hence,  if  they  march  in  num- 
bers equal  to  our  expectations.  I  have  sent  expresses  into  all 
the  counties  from  which  those  militia  went,  requiring  the  county 
lieutenants  to  exert  themselves  in  taking  them  ;  and  such  is  the 
detestation  with  which  they  have  been  received,  that  I  have 
heard  from  many  counties  they  were  going  back  of  themselves. 
You  will,  of  course,  hold  courts  martial  on  them,  and  make  them 
soldiers  for  eight  months.  If  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  inform 
me,  from  time  to  time,  how  many  you  have,  we  may,  perhaps, 
get  the  supernumerary  officers  in  the  State  to  take  command  of 
them.  By  the  same  opportunities,  I  desired  notice  to  be  given 
to  the  friends  of  the  few  remaining  with  you,  that  they  had  lost 
their  clothes  and  blankets,  and  recommended  that  they  should 
avail  themselves  of  any  good  opportunity  to  send  them  supplies. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  253 

We  approve  of  your  accommodating  the  hospital  with  medicines, 
and  the  Maryland  troops  with  spirits.  They  really  deserve  the 
whole,  and  I  wish  we  had  means  of  transportation  for  much  greater 
quantities,  which  we  have  on  hand  and  cannot  convey.  This  arti- 
cle we  could  furnish  plentifully  to  you  and  them.  What  is  to  be 
done  for  wagons,  I  do  not  know.  We  have  not  now  one  shilling 
in  the  treasury  to  purchase  them.  We  have  ordered  an  active 
quarter-master  to  go  to  the  westward,  and  endeavor  to  purchase 
on  credit,  or  impress  a  hundred  wagons  and  teams.  But  I  really 
see  no  prospect  of  sending  you  additional  supplies,  till  the  same 
wagons  return  from  you,  which  we  sent  on  with  the  last.  I  in- 
formed you,  in  my  last  letter,  we  had  ordered  two  thousand  militia 
more,  to  rendezvous  at  Hillsborough  on  the  25th  of  October.  You 
will  judge  yourself,  whether,  in  the  meantime,  you  can  be  more 
useful  by  remaining  where  you  are,  with  the  few  militia  left  and 
coming  in,  or  by  returning  home,  where,  besides  again  accom- 
modating yourself  after  your  losses,  you  may  also  aid  us  in  get- 
ting those  men  into  motion,  and  in  pointing  out  such  things  as 
are  within  our  power,  and  may  be  useful  to  the  service.  And 
you  will  act  accordingly.  I  am,  with  great  friendship  and  esteem, 
dear  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient,  humble  servant. 


TO    GENERAL    EDWARD    STEVENS. 

RICHMOND,  Sept.  15th,  1780. 

SIR, — I  beg  leave  to  trouble  you  with  a  private  letter,  on  a  little 
matter  of  my  own,  having  no  acquaintance  at  camp,  with  whom  I 
can  take  that  liberty.  Among  the  wagons  impressed,  for  the  use  of 
your  militia,  were  two  of  mine.  One  of  these,  I  know  is  safe,  hav- 
ing been  on  its  way  from  hence  to  Hillsborough,  at  the  time  of  the 
late  engagement.  The  other,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  was  on 
the  field.  A  wagon  master,  who  says  he  was  near  it,  informs  me 
the  brigade  quarter-master  cut  out  one  of  my  best  horses,  and 


254  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

made  his  escape  on  him,  and  that  he  saw  my  wagoner  loosening 
his  own  horse  to  come  off,  but  the  enemy's  horse  were  then  com- 
ing up,  and  he  knows  nothing  further.  He  was  a  negro  man, 
named  Phill,  lame  in  one  arm  and  leg.  If  you  will  do  me  the 
favor  to  enquire  what  has  become  of  him,  what  horses  are  saved, 
and  to  send  them  to  me,  I  shall  be  much  obliged  to  you.  The 
horses  were  not  public  property,  as  they  were  only  impressed  and 
not  sold.  Perhaps  your  certificate  of  what  is  lost,  may  be  neces- 
sary for  me.  The  wagon  master  told  me,  that  the  public  money 
was  in  my  wagon,  a  circumstance  which,  perhaps,  may  aid  your 
enquiries.  After  apologising  for  the  trouble,  I  beg  leave  to  as- 
sure you  that  I  am,  with  great  sincerity, 

Your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    MAJOR  GENERAL    GATES. 

RICHMOND,  September  23,  1780. 

SIR, — I  have  empowered  Colonel  Carrington  to  have  twelve 
boats,  scows  or  batteaux,  built  at  Taylor's  Ferry,  and  to  draw  on  me 
for  the  cost.  I  recommended  the  constructing  them  so  as  to  answer 
the  transportation  of  provisions  along  that  river,  as  a  change  of  po- 
sition of  the  two  armies,  may  render  them  unnecessary  at  Taylor's 
ferry ;  and  I  am  thoroughly  persuaded,  that,  unless  we  can  find 
out  some  channel  of  transportation  by  water,  no  supplies  of  bread, 
of  any  consequence,  can  be  sent  you  from  this  State  for  a  long 
time  to  come.  The  want  of  wagons  is  a  bar  insuperable,  at  least, 
in  any  reasonable  time.  I  have  given  orders  to  have  Fry  and 
Jefferson's  map,  and  Henry's  map  of  Virginia,  sought  for  and 
purchased.  As  soon  as  they  can  be  got,  I  will  forward  them.  I 
have  also  written  to  General  Washington  on  the  subject  of  win- 
tering the  French  fleet  in  the  Chesapeake.  Oar  new  levies  rendez- 
vous in  large  numbers.  As  General  Washington  had  constituted 
them  into  eight  battalions,  and  allotted  none  to  Colonel  Harrison, 
we  think  to  deliver  him  about  four  hundred  drafts  of  another  kind, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  255 

who  are  to  serve  eighteen  months  also.  Unless  Congress  furnish 
small  arms,  we  cannot  arm  more  than  half  the  men  who  will  go 
from  this  State.  The  prize  you  mention  of  tents  and  blankets  is 
very  fortunate.  It  is  absolutely  out  of  our  power  to  get  these 
articles,  to  any  amount,  in  this  country,  nor  have  we  clothing  for 
our  new  levies.  They  must,  therefore,  go  to  you  clothed  as 
militia,  till  we  can  procure  and  send  on  supplies.  They  will  be 
as  warm  in  their  present  clothing  at  Hillsborough,  as  at  Ches- 
terfield Court  House. 

We  have  an  agent,  collecting  all  the  beeves  which  can  be  got 
from  the  counties  round  about  Portsmouth,  to  send  off  to  you. 
They  have  there  also  plentiful  crops  of  corn  growing.  We  have 
instructed  him  to  try  whether  means  of  conveying  it  down  into 
the  Sounds,  and  up  some  of  the- rivers  of  North  Carolina,  or  by 
land  to  Meherrin  river,  and  thence  down  Chowan,  and  up  Ro- 
anoke,  cannot  be  rendered  practicable. 

I  am,  with  every  sentiment  of  esteem  and  respect,  your  most 
obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


P.  S.  I  enclose  a  certificate,  acknowledging  satisfaction  for 
the  money  furnished  by  Colonel  Kosciusko. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  September  23,  1780. 

SIR, — I  yesterday  forwarded  to  you  a  letter  from  Colonel 
Wood,  informing  you  of  his  situation.  That  post  has,  for  some 
time  past,  been  pretty  regularly  supplied,  and  I  hope  will  con- 
tinue to  be  for  some  time  to  come.  A  person, whose  punctuality 
can  be  relied  on,  offers  to  contract  for  victualling  it.  If  we  can 
agree  on  terms,  and  the  Assembly  will  strengthen  our  hands  suf- 
ficiently, we  think  to  adopt  that  method,  as  the  only  one  to  be 
relied  on  with  certainty.  I  have  heard  it  hinted  that  Colonel 
Wood  thinks  of  quitting  that  post.  I  should  be  exceedingly 


256  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

sorry,  indeed,  were  he  to  do  it.  He  has  given  to  those  under 
his  charge  the  most  perfect  satisfaction,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
used  all  the  cautions  which  the  nature  of  his  charge  has  re- 
quired. It  is  principally  owing  to  his  prudence  and  good  tem- 
per, that  the  late  difficulties  have  been  passed  over,  almost 
without  a  murmur.  Any  influence  which  your  Excellency 
shall  think  proper  to  use,  for  retaining  him  in  his  present  situ- 
ation, will  promote  the  public  good,  and  have  a  great  tendency 
to  keep  up  a  desirable  harmony  with  the  officers  of  that  corps. 
Our  new  recruits  are  rendezvousing  very  generally.  Colonel 
Harrison  was  uneasy  at  having  none  of  them  assigned  to  his 
corps  of  artillery,  who  have  very  much  distinguished  themselves 
in  the  late  unfortunate  action,  and  are  reduced  almost  to  no- 
thing. We  happened  to  have  about  four  hundred  drafts,  raised 
in  the  last  year,  and  never  called  out  and  sent  on  duty  by  their 
county  lieutenants,  whom  we  have  collected  and  are  collecting. 
We  think  to  deliver  these  to  Colonel  Harrison  :  they  are  to  serve 
eighteen  months  from  the  time  of  rendezvous.  The  numbers 
of  regulars  and  militia  ordered  from  this  State  into  the  southern 
service,  are  about  seven  thousand.  I  trust  we  may  count  that 
fifty-five  hundred  will  actually  proceed  ;  but  we  have  arms  for 
three  thousand  only.  If,  therefore,  we  do  not  speedily  receive  a 
supply  from  Congress,  we  must  countermand  a  proper  number  of 
these  troops.  Besides  this  supply,  there  should  certainly  be  a 
magazine  laid  in  here,  to  provide  against  a  general  loss  as  well 
as  daily  waste.  When  we  deliver  out  those  now  in  our  maga- 
zine, we  shall  have  sent  seven  thousand  stand  of  our  own 
into  the  southern  service,  in  the  course  of  this  summer.  We 
.are  still  more  destitute  of  clothing,  tents  and  wagons  for  our 
troops.  The  southern  army  suffers  for  provisions,  which  we 
could  plentifully  supply,  were  it  possible  to  find  means  of  trans- 
portation. Despairing  of  this,  we  directed  very  considerable 
quantities,  collected  on  the  navigable  waters,  to  be  sent  north- 
wardly by  the  quarter-master.  This  he  is  now  doing  ;  slowly, 
however.  Unapprised  what  may  be  proposed  by  our  allies,  to 
be  done  with  their  fleet  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  winter,  1 


CORRESPONDENCE.  257 

would  beg  leave  to  intimate  to  you,  that  if  it  should  appear  to 
.hem  eligible  that  it  should  winter  in  the  Chesapeake,  they  can 
be  well  supplied  with  provisions,  taking  their  necessary  measures 
in  due  time.  The  waters  communicating  with  that  bay  furnish 
easy,  and  (in  that  case)  safe  transportation,  and  their  money 
will  call  forth  what  is  denied  to  ours. 

I  am,  with  all  possible  esteem  and  respect,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient  and  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  September  26,  1780. 

Sm, — The  enclosed  copy  of  a  letter  from  Lord  Cornwallis* 
to  Colonel  Balfour,  was  sent  me  by  Governor  Rutledge :  lest 
you  should  not  have  seen  it,  I  do  myself  the  pleasure  of  trans- 
mitting it,  with  a  letter  from  General  Harrington  to  General 
Gates  giving  information  of  some  late  movements  of  the  enemy. 

*  TO    LIEUTENANT    COLONEL    NISBET    BALFOUR,  COMMANDER    AT    NINETY-SIX. 

I  have  the  happiness  to  inform  you,  that  on  Wednesday  the  16th  instant,  I  to- 
tally defeated  General  Gates's  army.  One  thousand  were  killed  and  wounded,  about 
eight  hundred  taken  prisoners.  We  are  in  possession  of  eight  pieces  of  brass  cannon, 
all  they  had  in  the  field,  all  their  ammunition  wagons,  a  great  number  of  arms,  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty  baggage  wagons :  in  short,  there  never  was  a  more  complete 
victory.  I  have  written  to  Lieutenant  Colonel  Turnbull,  whom  I  sent  to  join  Major 
Johnson  on  Little  river,  to  push  on  after  General  Sumpter  to  the  Waxhaws,  whose 
detachment  is  the  only  collected  force  of  rebels  in  all  this  country.  Colonel  Tarlton 
is  in  pursuit  of  Sumpter.  Our  loss  is  about  three  hundred  killed  and  wound,  chiefly 
of  the  thirty-third  regiment  and  volunteers,  of  Ireland.  I  have  given  orders  that 
all  the  inhabitants  of  this  province,  who  have  subscribed  and  taken  part  in  this  re- 
volt, should  be  punished  with  the  greatest  rigor  ;  also,  that  those  who  will  not  turn 
out,  may  be  imprisoned,  and  their  whole  property  taken  from  them,  and  destroyed. 
I  have  also  ordered  that  satisfaction  should  be  made  for  their  estates,  to  those  who 
have  been  injured  and  oppressed  by  them.  I  have  ordered,  in  the  most  positive  man- 
ner, that  every  militia  man  who  has  borne  arms  with  us  and  afterwards  joined  the 
enemy,  shall  be  immediately  hanged.  I  desire  you  will  take  the  most  rigorous  meas- 
ures to  punish  the  rebels  in  the  district  in  which  you  command,  and  that  you  will 
obey,  in  the  strictest  manner,  the  directions  I  have  given  in  this  letter,  relative  to  the 
inhabitants  of  this  -country.  COENWALLIS. 

August,  1780. 
VOL.  I.  1^ 


258  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

I  was  honored  yesterday  with  your  favor  of  the  5th  instant, 
on  the  subject  of  prisoners,  and  particularly  Lieutenant  Governor 
Hamilton.  You  are  not  unapprised  of  the  influence  of  this 
officer  with  the  Indians,  his  activity  and  embittered  zeal  against 
us.  You  also,  perhaps,  know  how  precarious  is  our  tenure  of 
the  Illinois  country,  and  how  critical  is  the  situation  of  the  new 
counties  on  the  Ohio.  These  circumstances  determined  us  to 
detain  Governor  Hamilton  and  Major  Hay  within  our  power, 
when  we  delivered  up  the  other  prisoners.  On  a  late  represen- 
tation from  the  people  of  Kentucky,  by  a  person  sent  here  from 
that  country,  and  expressions  of  what  they  had  reason  to  appre- 
hend from  these  two  prisoners,  in  the  event  of  their  liberation, 
we  assured  them  they  would  not  be  parted  with,  though  we 
were  giving  up  our  other  prisoners.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Dabus- 
son,  aid  to  Baron  de  Kalb,  lately  came  here  on  his  parole,  with 
an  offer  from  Lord  Rawdon,  to  exchange  him  for  Hamilton. 
Colonel  Towles  is  now  here  with  a  like  proposition  for  himself, 
from  General  Phillips,  very  strongly  urged  by  the  General. 
These,  and  other  overtures,  do  not  lessen  our  opinion  of  the  im- 
portance of  retaining  him ;  and  they  have  been,  and  will  be, 
uniformly  rejected.  Should  the  settlement,  indeed,  of  a  cartel 
become  impracticable,  without  the  consent  of  the  States  to  sub- 
mit their  separate  prisoners  to  its  obligation,  we  will  give  up 
these  two  prisoners,  as  we  would  anything,  rather  than  be  an 
obstacle  to  a  general  good.  But  no  other  circumstance  would, 
I  believe,  extract  them  from  us.  These  two  gentlemen,  with  a 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Elligood,  are  the  only  separate  prisoners  we 
have  retained,  and  the  last,  only  on  his  own  request,  and  not 
because  we  set  any  store  by  him.  There  is,  indeed,  a  Lieuten- 
ant Governor  Rocheblawe  of  Kaskaskie,  who  has  broken  his 
parole,  and  gone  to  New  York,  whom  we  must  shortly  trouble 
your  Excellency  to  demand  for  us,  as  soon  as  we  can  forward 
to  you  the  proper  documents.  Since  the  forty  prisoners  sent  to 
Winchester,  as  mentioned  in  my  letter  of  the  9th  ultimo,  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  more  have  been  sent  thither,  some  of 
them  taken  by  us  at  sea,  others  sent  on  by  General  Gates. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  259 

The  exposed  and  weak  state  of  our  western  settlements,  and 
the  danger  to  which  they  are  subject  from  the  northern  Indians, 
acting  under  the  influence  of  the  British  post  at  Detroit,  render 
it  necessary  for  us  to  keep  from  five  to  eight  hundred  men  on 
duty,  for  their  defence.  This  is  a  great  and  perpetual  expense. 
Could  that  post  be  reduced  and  retained,  it  would  cover  all  the 
States  to  the  southeast  of  it.  We  have  long  meditated  the  at- 
tempt under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Clarke,  but  the  expense 
would  be  so  great,  that  whenever  we  have  wished  to  take  it  up, 
the  circumstance  has  obliged  us  to  decline  it.  Two  different 
estimates  make  it  amount  to  two  millions  of  pounds,  present 
money.  We  could  furnish  the  men,  provisions,  and  every  neces- 
sary, except  powder,  had  we  the  money,  or  could  the  demand 
from  us  be  so  far  supplied  from  other  quarters,  as  to  leave  it  in 
our  power  to  apply  such  a  sum  to  that  purpose ;  and,  when 
once  done,  it  would  save  annual  expenditures  to  a  great  amount. 
When  I  speak  of  furnishing  the  men,  I  mean  they  should  be 
militia,  such  being  the  popularity  of  Colonel  Clarke,  and  the 
confidence  of  the  western  people  in  him,  that  he  could  raise  the 
requisite  number  at  any  time.  We,  therefore,  beg  leave  to  refer 
this  matter  to  yourself,  to  determine  whether  such  an  enterprise 
would  not  be  for  the  general  good,  and  if  you  think  it  would, 
to  authorize  it  at  the  general  expense.  This  is  become  the  more 
reasonable,  if,  as  I  understand,  the  ratification  of  the  Confedera- 
tion has  been  rested  on  our  cession  of  a  part  of  our  western 
claim  ;  a  cession  which  (speaking  my  private  opinion)  I  verily 
believe  will  be  agreed  to,  if  the  quantity  demanded  is  not  un- 
reasonably great.  Should  this  proposition  be  approved  of,  it 
should  be  immediately  made  known  to  us,  as  the  season  is  now 
coming  on,  at  which  some  of  the  preparations  must  be  made. 
The  time  of  execution,  I  think,  should  be  at  the  time  of  the 
breaking  up  of  the  ice  in  the  Wabash,  and  before  the  lakes 
open.  The  interval,  I  am  told,  is  considerable. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c.,  your  most  obedient  and  humble 
servant. 


260  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO    MAJOR-GENERAL    GATES. 

RICHMOND,  October  4,  1780. 

SIR, — My  letter  of  September  23d,  answered  your  favors  re 
ceived  before  that  date,  and  the  present  serves  to  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  those  of  September  24th  arid  27th.  I  retain  in 
mind,  and  recur,  almost  daily,  to  your  requisitions  of  August ; 
we  have,  as  yet,  no  prospect  of  more  than  one  hundred  tents. 
Flour  is  ordered  to  be  manufactured,  as  soon  as  the  season  will 
render  it  safe  :  out  of  which,  I  trust,  we  can  furnish  not  only 
your  requisition  of  August,  but  that  of  Congress  of  September 
llth.  The  corn  you  desire,  we  could  furnish  when  the  new 
crops  come  in,  fully,  if  water  transportation  can  be  found ;  if 
not,  we  shall  be  able  only  to  send  you  what  lies  convenient  to 
the  southern  boundary,  in  which  neighborhood  the  crops  have 
been  much  abridged  by  a  flood  in  Roanoke.  We  have  no  rice. 
Rum  and  other  spirits  we  can  furnish  to  a  greater  amount  than 
you  require,  as  soon  as  our  wagons  are  in  readiness,  and  shall  be 
glad  to  commute  into  that  article  some  others  which  we  have 
not,  particularly  sugar,  coffee  and  salt.  The  vinegar  is  provided. 
Colonel  Finnic  promised  to  furnish  to  Colonel  Muter,  a  list  of  the 
spades,  hoes,  &c.,  which  could  be  furnished  from  the  Continental 
stores.  This  list  has  never  yet  come  to  hand.  It  is  believed, 
the  Continental  stores  here  will  fall  little  short  of  your  requisi- 
tion, except  in  the  article  of  axes,  which  our  shops  are  proceed- 
ing on.  Your  information  of  September  24th,  as  to  the  quality 
of  the  axes,  has  been  notified  to  the  workmen,  and  will,  I  hope, 
have  a  proper  effect  on  those  made  hereafter.  Application  has 
been  made  to  the  courts,  to  have  the  bridges  put  in  a  proper 
state,  which  they  have  promised  to  do.  We  are  endeavoring 
again  to  collect  wagons.  About  twenty  are  nearly  finished  at 
this  place.  We  employed,  about  three  weeks  ago,  agents  to  pur- 
chase, in  the  western  counties,  a  hundred  wagons  and  teams. 
Till  these  can  be  got,  it  will  be  impossible  to  furnish  anything 
from  this  place.  I  am  exceedingly  pleased  to  hear  of  your  regu- 
lation for  stopping  our  wagons  at  Roanoke.  This  will  put  it  in 


COEKESPONDENCE.  261 

our  power  to  repair  and  replace  them,  to  calculate  their  returns, 
provide  loads,  and  will  be  a  great  encouragement  to  increase 
their  number,  if  possible,  as  their  departure  hence  will  no  longer 
produce  the  idea  of  a  final  adieu  to  them. 

Colonel  Senf  arrived  here  the  evening  before  the  last.  He 
was  employed  yesterday  and  to-day,  in  copying  some  actual  and 
accurate  surveys,  which  we  had  had  made  of  the  country  round 
about  Portsmouth,  as  far  as  Cape  Henry  to  the  eastward,  Nanse- 
mond  river  to  the  westward,  the  Dismal  Swamp  to  the  south- 
ward, and  northwardly,  the  line  of  country  from  Portsmouth  by 
Hampton  and  York,  to  Williamsburg,  and  including  the  vicinities 
of  these  three  last  posts.  This  will  leave  him  nothing  to  do, 
but  to  take  drawings  of  particular  places,  and  the  soundings  of 
such  waters  as  he  thinks  material.  He  will  proceed  on  this 
business  to-morrow,  with  a  letter  to  General  Nelson,  and  powers 
to  call  for  the  attendance  of  a  proper  vessel. 

I  suppose,  that  your  drafts  in  favor  of  the  quarter-master,  if 
attended  with  sixty  days'  grace,  may  be  complied  with  to  a  cer- 
tain amount.  We  will  certainly  use  our  best  endeavors  to  an- 
swer them.  I  have  only  to  desire  that  they  may  be  made  pay- 
able to  the  quarter-master  alone,  and  not  to  the  bearer.  This  is 
to  prevent  the  mortification  of  seeing  an  unapprised  individual 
taken  in  by  an  assignment  of  them,  as  if  they  were  ready  money. 
Your  letter  to  Colonel  Finnic  will  go  to  Williamsburg  immedi- 
ately. Those  to  Congress,  with  a  copy  of  the  papers  enclosed 
to  me,  went  yesterday  by  express.  I  will  take  order  as  to  the 
bacon  you  mention.  I  fear  there  is  little  of  it,  and  that  not 
capable  of  being  long  kept.  You  are  surely  not  uninformed, 
that  Congress  required  the  greater  part  of  this  article  to  be  sent 
northward,  which  has  been  done.  I  hope,  by  this  time,  you  re- 
ceive supplies  of  beeves  from  our  commissary,  Mr.  Eaton,  who 
was  sent  three  weeks  or  a  month  ago  to  exhaust  of  that  article 
the  counties  below,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Portsmouth  ; 
and  from  thence,  was  to  proceed  to  the  other  counties,  in  order, 
as  they  stood  exposed  to  an  enemy. 

The  arrival  of  the  French  West  India  fleet  (which,  though 


262  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

not  authentically  communicated,  seems  supported  by  so  many 
concurring  accounts  from  individuals,  as  to  leave  scarcely  room 
for  doubt),  will,  I  hope,  prevent  the  enemy  from  carrying  into 
effect  the  embarkation  they  had  certainly  intended  from  New 
York,  though  they  are  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  Admiral 
Rodney  at  that  place,  with  twelve  sail  of  the  line  and  four 
frigates,  as  announced  by  General  Washington  to  Congress,  on 
the  19th  ultimo.  The  accounts  of  the  additional  French  fleet 
are  varied,  from  sixteen  to  nineteen  ships  of  the  line,  besides 
frigates.  The  number  of  the  latter  has  never  been  mentioned. 
The  extracts  of  letters,  which  you  will  see  in  our  paper  of  this 
day,  are  from  General  Washington,  President  Huntington  and 
our  Delegates  in  Congress  to  me.  That  from  Bladensburg  is 
from  a  particular  acquaintance  of  mine,  whose  credit  cannot  be 
doubted.  The  distress  we  are  experiencing  from  want  of  leather 
to  make  shoes,  is  great.  I  am  sure  you  have  thought  of  pre- 
venting it  in  future,  by  the  appointment  of  a  commissary  of 
hides,  or  some  other  good  regulation  for  saving  and  tanning  the 
hides,  which  the  consumption  of  your  army  will  afford. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  all  possible  esteem  and  respect,  Sir, 
your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    GENERAL    GATES. 

RICHMOND,  October  15,  1780. 

SIR, — I  am  rendered  not  a  little  anxious  by  the  paragraph  of 
yours  of  the  7th  instant,  wherein  you  say,  "It  is  near  a  month 
since  I  received  any  letter  from  your  Excellency  ;  indeed,  the  re- 
ceipt of  most  that  I  have  written  to  you  remain  unacknowledged." 
You  ought,  within  that  time,  to  have  received  my  letter  of  Sep- 
tember the  3d,  written  immediately  on  my  return  to  this  place, 
after  a  fortnight's  absence  ;  that  of  September  the  llth,  acknowl- 
edging the  receipt  of  yours  which  covered  drafts  for  money ; 
that  of  September  the  23d,  on  the  subject  of  batteaux  at  Tay- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  263 

lor's  ferry,  wagons,  maps  of  Virginia,  wintering  the  French 
fleet  in  the  Chesapeake,  our  new  levies,  and  provisions  from  our 
lower  counties  ;  and  that  of  October  the  4th,  in  answer  to  yours 
of  September  the  24th.  and  27th.  I  begin  to  apprehend  treach- 
ery in  some  part  of  our  chain  of  expresses,  and  beg  the  favor  of 
you,  in  your  next,  to  mention  whether  any,  and  which  of  these 
letters  have  come  to  hand.  This  acknowledges  the  receipt  of 
yours  of  September  the  28th,  and  October  the  3d,  5th,  and  7th. 
The  first  of  these  was  delivered  four  or  five  days  ago  by  Captain 
Drew.  He  will  be  permitted  to  return  as  you  desire,  as  we 
would  fulfil  your  wishes  in  every  point  in  our  power,  as  well  as 
indulge  the  ardor  of  a  good  officer.  Our  militia  from  the  west- 
ern counties,  are  now  on  their  march  to  join  you.  They  are 
fond  of  the  kind  of  service  in  which  Colonel  Morgan  is  gener- 
ally engaged,  and  are  made  very  happy  by  being  informed  you 
intend  to  put  them  under  him.  Such  as  pass  by  this  place,  take 
muskets  in  their  hands.  Those  from  the  southern  counties  be- 
yond the  Blue  Ridge,  were  advised  to  carry  their  rifles.  For 
those  who  carry  neither  rifles  nor  muskets,  as  well  as  for  our 
eighteen  months'  men,  we  shall  send  on  arms  as  soon  as  wagons 
can  be  procured.  In  the  meantime,  I  had  hoped  that  there  were 
arms  for  those  who  should  first  arrive  at  Hillsborough,  as  by 
General  Stevens's  return,  dated  at  his  departure  thence,  there 
were  somewhere  between  five  and  eight  hundred  muskets  (I 
speak  from  memory,  not  having  present  access  to  the  return)  be- 
longing to  this  State,  either  in  the  hands  of  the  few  militia  who 
were  there,  or  stored.  Captain  Fauntleroy,  of  the  cavalry,  gives 
me  hopes  he  shall  immediately  forward  a  very  considerable  sup- 
ply of  accoutrements,  for  White's  and  Washington's  cavalry.  He 
told  me  yesterday,  he  had  received  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
horses  for  that  service,  from  us.  Besides  those,  he  had  rejected 
sixty  odd,  after  we  had  purchased  them,  at  £30  apiece.  Nel- 
son's two  troops  were  returned  to  me,  deficient  only  twelve 
horses,  since  which,  ten  have  been  sent  to  him  by  Lieutenant 
Armstead.  I  am  not  a  little  disappointed,  therefore,  in  the  num- 
ber of  cavalry  fit  for  duty,  as  mentioned  in  the  letter  you  en- 


264  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

closed  me.  Your  request  (as  stated  in  your  letter  of  the  7th) 
that  we  will  send  no  men  into  the  field,  or  even  to  your  camp, 
that  are  not  well  furnished  with  shoes,  blankets,  and  every  ne- 
cessary for  immediate  service,  would  amount  to  a  stoppage  of 
every  man  ;  as  we  have  it  not  in  our  power  to  furnish  them 
with  real  necessaries  completely.  I  hope  they  will  be  all  shod. 
What  proportion  will  have  blankets,  I  cannot  say  :  we  purchase 
every  one  which  can  be  found  out ;  and  now  I  begin  to  have  a 
prospect  of  furnishing  about  half  of  them  with  tents,  as  soon  as 
they  can  be  made  and  forwarded.  As  to  provisions,  our  agent, 
Eaton,  of  whom  I  before  wrote,  informs  me  in  a  letter  of  the 
5th  instant,  he  shall  immediately  get  supplies  of  beef  into  mo- 
tion, and  shall  send  some  corn  by  a  circuitous  navigation.  But 
till  we  receive  our  wagons  from  the  western  country,  I  cannot 
hope  to  aid  you  in  bread.  I  expect  daily  to  see  wagons  coming 
in  to  us.  The  militia  were  ordered  to  rendezvous  at  Hillsbo- 
rough,  expecting  they  would  thence  be  ordered  by  you  into  ser- 
vice. I  send  you  herewith,  a  copy  of  Henry's  map  of  Virginia. 
It  is  a  mere  cento  of  blunders.  It  may  serve  to  give  you  a  gen- 
eral idea  of  the  courses  of  rivers,  and  positions  of  counties. 
We  are  endeavoring  to  get  you  a  copy  of  Fry  and  Jefferson's ; 
but  they  are  now  very  scarce.  I  also  enclose  you  some  news- 
papers, in  which  you  will  find  a  detail  of  Arnold's  apostasy  and 
villany. 

I  am,  with  all  sentiments  of  sincere  respect  and  esteom,  Sir, 
your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


P.  S.  Just  as  I  was  closing  my  letter,  yours  of  the  9th  instant 
was  put  into  my  hands.  I  enclose,  by  this  express,  a  power  to 
Mr.  Lambe,  quarter-master,  to  impress  for  a  month,  ten  wagons 
from  each  of  the  counties  of  Brunswick,  Mecklenburg,  Lunen- 
burg,  Charlotte,  and  Halifax,  and  direct  him  to  take  your  orders, 
whether  they  shall  go  first  to  you,  or  come  here.  If  the  latter, 
we  can  load  them  with  arms  and  spirits.  Before  their  month  is 
out,  I  hope  the  hundred  wagons  from  the  westward  will  have 


COEEESPONDENCE.  265 

come  in.  We  will  otherwise  provide  a  relief  for  these.  I  am 
perfectly  astonished  at  your  not  having  yet  received  my  letters 
before  mentioned.  I  send  you  a  copy  of  that  of  the  4th  of 
October,  as  being  most  material.  I  learn  from  one  of  General 
Muhlenburg's  family,  that  five  wagons  have  set  out  from  hence, 
with  three  hundred  stand  of  arms,  &c.  However,  the  General 
writes  to  you  himself. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  October  22,  1780. 

SIR, — I  have  this  morning  received  certain  information  of  the 
arrival  of  a  hostile  fleet  in  our  bay,  of  about  sixty  sail.  The 
debarkation  of  some  light  horse,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ports- 
mouth, seems  to  indicate  that  as  the  first  scene  of  action.  We 
are  endeavoring  to  collect  as  large  a  body  to  oppose  them  as  we 
can  arm ;  this  will  be  lamentably  inadequate,  if  the  enemy  be 
in  any  force.  It  is  mortifying  to  suppose  that  a  people,  able 
and  zealous  to  contend  with  their  enemy,  should  be  reduced  to 
fold  their  arms  for  want  of  the  means  of  defence.  Yet  no  re- 
sources, that  we  know  of,  insure  us  against  this  event.  It  has 
become  necessary  to  divert  to  this  new  object,  a  considerable 
part  of  the  aids  we  had  destined  for  General  Gates.  We  are 
still,  however,  sensible  of  the  necessity  of  supporting  him,  and 
have  left  that  part  of  the  country  nearest  him  uncalled  on,  at 
present,  that  they  may  reinforce  him  as  soon  as  arms  can  be  re- 
ceived. We  have  called  to  the  command  of  our  forces  Generals 
Weeden  and  Muhlenburg,  of  the  line,  and  Nelson  and  Stevens 
of  the  militia.  You  will  be  pleased  to  make  to  these  such  ad- 
ditions as  you  may  think  proper.  As  to  the  aids  of  men,  I  ask 
for  none,  knowing  that  if  the  late  detachment  of  the  enemy 
shall  have  left  it  safe  for  you  to  spare  aids  of  that  kind,  you 
will  not  await  my  application.  Of  the  troops  we  shall  raise, 
there  is  not  a  single  man  who  ever  saw  the  face  of  an  enemy. 
Whether  the  Convention  troops  will  be  removed  or  not,  is  yet 


266  JEFFEKSON'S    WOEKS. 

undetermined.     This  must  depend  on  the  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  the  aspect  of  their  movements. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  Excellency's  most  obedient  hum- 
ble servant. 


TO    MAJOR    GENERAL    GATES. 

Ix  COUNCIL,  Oct.  22d,  1780. 

SIR, — The  letters  which  accompany  this  will  inform  you  of 
the  arrival  of  a  large  fleet  of  the  enemy  within  our  capes,  and 
that  they  have  begun  their  debarkation.*  We  are  taking  meas- 
ures to  collect  a  body  to  oppose  them,  for  which  purpose  it  seems 
necessary  to  retain  such  regulars,  volunteers  and  militia  as  have 
not  yet  gone  on  to  you.  We  have  left  the  counties  of  Lunen- 
burg,  Mecklenburg,  Halifax,  and  all  above  them  on  the  south 
side  of  James  river,  uncalled  on,  that  they  may  be  in  readiness  to 
reinforce  you  as  soon  as  arms  can  be  procured.  I  am  in  hopes 
the  eighteen  months'  men  and  western  militia,  who  will  have 
joined  you  with  the  volunteers  from  Washington  and  Montgom- 
ery, as  proposed  by  Col.  Preston,  and  the  eighteen  months'  militia, 
will  be  a  useful  reinforcement  to  you,  and  shall  continue  to  divide 
our  attention,  both  as  to  men  and  provisions,  between  the  army  in 
your  front  and  that  which  is  posting  itself  within  our  own  country. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  esteem,  Sir,  your 
most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 

P.  S.  Col.  Carrington  is  arrived  since  writing  the  above,  and 

[*  About  the  22<1  of  Oct.  1780,  a  British  fleet  made  its  appearance  in  the  Chesa- 
peake, having  on  board  some  three  thousand  troops,  under  the  command  of  General 
Leslie.  Different  detachments  were  landed  near  Portsmouth,  Hampton,  and  on  the 
bay-side  of  Princess  Anne.  The  whole  force  was  subsequently  collected  at  Ports- 
mouth; but  Leslie,  probably  disappointed  in  his  expectation  of  forming  a  juncture 
with  Cornwallis,  suddenly  re -embarked  for  South  Carolina.  On  the  29th  of  the  fol- 
lowing December,  Arnold  made  his  appearance,  with  twenty-seven  sail  of  vessels, 
within  the  Virginian  capes,  and  commenced  his  invasion.  On  26th  of  March,  1781, 
he  was  superseded  in  his  command  by  General  Phillips,  who  joined  him  at  Ports- 
mouth, with  some  two  thousand  troops. — ED.] 


COKKESPONDENCE.  267 

says  you  want  thirty  horses  to  move  your  artillery.     They  shall 
be  immediately  sent  to  you. 


TO  HIS  EXCELLENCY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  October  25,  1780. 

SIR, — I  take  the  liberty  of  enclosing  to  you  letters  from  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton,  for  New  York.  On  some  representations  re- 
ceived by  Colonel  Towles,  that  an  indulgence  to  Governor 
Hamilton  and  his  companions  to  go  to  New  York,  on  parole, 
would  produce  the  happiest  effect  on  the  situation  of  our  officers 
in  Long  Island,  we  have  given  him,  Major  Hay,  and  some  of 
the  same  party  at  Winchester,  leave  to  go  there  on  parole.  The 
two  former  go  by  water,  the  latter  by  land. 

By  this  express  I  hand  on,  from  General  Gates  to  Congress, 
intelligence  of  the  capture  of  Augusta,  in  Georgia,  with  consid- 
erable quantities  of  goods ;  and  information,  which  carries  a  fair 
appearance,  of  the  taking  of  Georgetown,  in  South  Carolina,  by 
a  party  of  ours,  and  that  an  army  of  six  thousand  French  and 
Spaniards  had  landed  at  Sunbury.  This  is  the  more  credible,  as 
Cornwallis  retreated  from  Charlotte  on  the  12th  instant,  with 
great  marks  of  precipitation.  Since  my  last  to  you,  informing 
you  of  an  enemy's  fleet,  they  have  landed  eight  hundred  men  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Portsmouth,  and  some  more  on  the  bay  side 
of  Princess  Anne.  One  thousand  infantry  landed  at  New-ports- 
news,  on  the  morning  of  the  23d,  and  immediately  took  possess- 
ion of  Hampton.  The  horse  were  proceeding  up  the  road. 
Such  a  corps  as  Major  Lee's  would  be  of  infinite  service  to  us 
Next  to  a  naval  force,  horse  seems  to  be  most  capable  of  protect- 
ing a  country  so  intersected  by  waters. 

I  am,  with  the  most  sincere  esteem,  your  Excellency's  mosl 
obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


268  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL   WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  October  26,  1780. 

SIR, — The  Executive  of  this  State  think  it  expedient,  under 
our  present  circumstances,  that  the  prisoners  of  war  under  the 
Convention  of  Saratoga,  be  removed  from  their  present  situa- 
tion. It  will  be  impossible,  as  long  as  they  remain  with  us,  to 
prevent  the  hostile  army  from  being  reinforced  by  numerous  de- 
sertions from  this  corps ;  and  this  expectation  may  be  one  among 
the  probable  causes  of  this  movement  of  the  enemy.  Should, 
moreover,  a  rescue  of  them  be  attempted,  the  extensive  disaffec- 
tion which  has  of  late  been  discovered,  and  the  almost  total 
want  of  arms  in  the  hands  of  our  good  people,  render  the  suc- 
cess of  such  an  enterprise  by  no  means  desperate.  The  fear  of 
this,  and  the  dangerous  convulsions  to  which  such  an  attempt 
would  expose  us,  divert  the  attention  of  a  very  considerable  part 
of  our  militia  from  an  opposition  to  an  invading  enemy.  An 
order  has  been,  therefore,  this  day  issued  to  Colonel  Wood,  to 
take  immediate  measures  for  their  removal ;  and  every  aid  has 
been,  and  will  be  given  him,  for  transporting,  guarding,  and 
subsisting  them  on  the  road,  which  our  powers  can  accomplish. 
Notice  hereof  is  sent  to  his  Excellency  Governor  Lee,  on  whose 
part,  I  doubt  not,  necessary  preparations  will  be  made. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  esteem  and  respect, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    GENERAL    GATES. 

RICHMOND,  October  28,  1780. 

SIR, — Your  letters  of  the  14th,  20th  and  21st  have  come  to 
hand,  and  your  despatches  to  Congress  have  been  regularly  for- 
warded. I  shall  attend  to  the  caveat  against  Mr.  Ochiltree's 
bill.  Your  letter  to  Colonel  Senf  remains  still  in  my  hands,  as 
it  did  not  come  till  the  enemy  had  taken  possession  of  the 
ground,  on  which  I  knew  him  to  have  been,  and  I  have  since 


CORRESPONDENCE.  269 

no  certain  information  where  a  letter  might  surely  find  him. 
My  proposition  as  to  your  bills  in  favor  of  the  quarter-master, 
referred  to  yours  of  September  27th.  I  have  notified  to  the 
Continental  quarter-master,  your  advance  of  nine  hundred  dol- 
lars to  Cooper.  As  yet,  we  have  received  no  wagons.  I  wish 
Mr.  Lambe  may  have  supplied  you.  Should  those  from  the 
western  quarter  not  come  in,  we  will  authorize  him  or  some  other, 
to  procure  a  relief,  in  time,  for  those  first  impressed.  We  are 
upon  the  eve  of  a  new  arrangement  as  to  our  commissary's  and 
quarter-master's  departments,  as  the  want  of  money,  introducing 
its  substitute  force,  requires  the  establishment  of  a  different  kind 
of  system. 

Since  my  first  information  to  you  of  the  arrival  of  an  enemy, 
they  have  landed  about  eight  hundred  men  near  Portsmouth, 
some  on  the  bay  side  of  Princess  Anne,  one  thousand  at  Hamp- 
ton, and  still  retained  considerable  part  on  board  their  ships. 
Those  at  Hampton,  after  committing  horrid  depredations,  have 
again  retired  to  their  ships,  which,  on  the  evening  of  the  26th, 
were  strung  along  the  road  from  New-ports-news,  to  the  mouth 
of  Nansemond,  which  seems  to  indicate  an  intention  of  coming 
up  James  river.  Our  information  is,  that  they  have  from  four  to 
five  thousand  men,  commanded  by  General  Leslie,  and  that  they 
have  come  under  convoy  of  one  forty-gun  ship,  and  some  frigates 
(how  many  has  never  been  said),  commanded  by  Commodore 
Rodney.  Would  it  not  be  worth  while  to  send  out  a  swift  boat 
from  some  of  the  inlets  of  Carolina,  to  notify  the  French  Ad- 
miral that  his  enemies  are  in  a  net,  if  he  has  leisure  to  close  the 
mouth  of  it  ?  Generals  Muhlenburg  and  Nelson  are  assembling 
a  force  to  be  ready  for  them,  and  General  Weeden  has  come  to 
this  place,  where  he  is  at  present  employed  in  some  arrange- 
ments. We  have  ordered  the  removal  of  the  Saratoga  prisoners, 
that  we  may  have  our  hands  clear  for  these  new  guests. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  perfect  esteem  and  re- 
spect, Sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


270  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

1O    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  November  3,  1780. 

SIR, — Since  I  had  the  honor  of  writing  to  your  Excellency, 
on  the  25th  ultimo,  the  enemy  have  withdrawn  their  forces  from 
the  North  of  James  River,  and  have  taken  post  at  Portsmouth, 
which,  we  learn,  they  are  fortifying.  Their  highest  post  is  Suf- 
folk, where  there  is  a  very  narrow  and  defensible  pass  between 
Nansemond  river  and  the  Dismal  Swamp,  which  covers  the 
country  below,  from  being  entered  by  us.  More  accurate  infor- 
mation of  their  force,  than  we  at  first  had,  gives  us  reason  to 
suppose  them  to  be  from  twenty-five  hundred  to  three  thousand 
strong,  of  which  between  sixty  and  seventy  are  cavalry.  They 
are  commanded  by  General  Leslie,  and  were  convoyed  by  the 
Romulus,  of  forty  guns,  the  Blonde,  of  thirty-two  guns,  the  De- 
light sloop,  of  sixteen,  a  twenty-gun  ship  of  John  Goodwick's, 
and  two  row  gallies,  commanded  by  Commodore  Grayton.  We 
are  not  assured,  as  yet,  that  they  have  landed  their  whole  force. 
Indeed,  they  give  out  themselves,  that  after  drawing  the  force 
of  this  State  to  Suffolk,  they  mean  to  go  to  Baltimore.  Their 
movements  had  induced  me  to  think  they  came  with  an  expecta- 
tion of  meeting  with  Lord  Cornwallis  in  this  country,  that  his 
precipitate  retreat  has  left  them  without  a  concerted  object,  and 
that  they  were  waiting  further  orders.  Information '  of  this 
morning  says,  that  being  informed  of  Lord  Cornwallis's  retreat, 
and  a  public  paper  having  been  procured  by  them,  wherein  were 
printed  the  several  despatches  which  brought  this  intelligence 
from  General  Gates,  they  unladed  a  vessel  and  sent  her  off  to 
Charleston  immediately.  The  fate  of  this  army  of  theirs  hangs 
on  a  very  slender  naval  force,  indeed. 

The  want  of  barracks  at  fort  Frederick,  as  represented  by  Col- 
onel Wood,  the  difficulty  of  getting  wagons  sufficient  to  move 
the  whole  Convention  troops,  and  the  state  of  uneasiness  in  which 
the  regiment  of  guards  is,  have  induced  me  to  think  it  would  be 
better  to  move  these  troops  in  two  divisions ;  and  as  the  whole 
danger  of  desertion  to  the  enemy,  and  correspondence  with  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  271 

disaffected  in  our  southern  counties,  is  from  the  British  only,  (for 
from  the  Germans  we  have  no  apprehensions  on  either  head,)  we 
have  advised  Colonel  Wood  to  move  on  the  British  in  the  first 
division,  and  to  leave  the  Germans  in  their  present  situation,  to 
form  a  second  division,  when  barracks  may  be  erected  at  fort 
Frederick.  By  these  means,  the  British  may  march  immediately 
under  the  guard  of  Colonel  Crochet's  battalion,  while  Colonel 
Taylor's  regiment  of  guards  remains  with  the  Germans.  I  can- 
not suppose  this  will  be  deemed  such  a  separation  as  is  provided 
against  by  the  Convention,  nor  that  their  officers  will  wish  to 
have  the  whole  troops  crowded  into  barracks,  probably  not  suf- 
ficient for  half  of  them.  Should  they,  however,  insist  on  their 
being  kept  together,  I  suppose  it  would  be  the  opinion  that  the 
second  division  should  follow  the  first  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
that  their  being  exposed,  in  that  case,  to  a  want  of  covering, 
would  be  justly  imputable  to  themselves  only.  The  delay  of  the 
second  division,  will  lessen  the  distress  for  provisions,  which 
may,  perhaps,  take  place  on  their  first  going  to  the  new  post,  be- 
fore matters  are  properly  arranged. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  esteem  and  respect,  your 
Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  November  10,  1780. 

SIR, — I  inclose  your  Excellency  a  copy  of  an  intercepted  let- 
ter from  Major  General  Leslie,  to  Lord  Cornwallis.*  It  was 
taken  from  a  person  endeavoring  to  pass  through  the  country 

*  TO    LORD    CORNWALLIS. 

PORTSMOUTH,  Virginia,  November  4th,  1780. 

Mr  LORD, — I  have  been  here  near  a  week,  establishing  a  post.  I  wrote  to  you  to 
Charleston,  and  by  another  messenger,  'by  land.  I  cannot  hear,  for  a  certainty, 
where  you  are :  I  wait  your  orders.  The  bearer  is  to  be  handsomely  rewarded,  if  ha 
brings  me  any  note  or  mark  from  your  Lordship.  A.  L. 


272  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

from  Portsmouth  towards  Carolina.  When  apprehended,  and  a 
proposal  made  to  search  him,  he  readily  consented  to  be  searched, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  was  observed  to  put  his  hand  into  his 
pocket  and  carry  something  towards  his  mouth,  as  if  it  were  a 
quid  of  tobacco ;  it  was  examined,  and  found  to  be  a  letter,  of 
which  the  inclosed  is  a  copy,  written  on  silk  paper,  rolled  up  in 
gold-beater's  skin,  and  nicely  tied  at  each  end,  so  as  not  to  be 
larger  than  a  goose-quill.  As  this  is  the  first  authentic  disclosure 
of  their  purpose  in  coming  here,  and  may  serve  to  found,  with 
somewhat  more  of  certainty,  conjectures  respecting  their  future 
movements,  while  their  disappointment  in  not  meeting  with  Lord 
Cornwallis  may  occasion  new  plans  at  New  York,  I  thought  it 
worthy  of  communication  to  your  Excellency. 

Some  deserters  were  taken  yesterday,  said  to  be  of  the  British 
Convention  troops,  who  have  found  means  to  get  to  the  enemy  at 
Portsmouth,  and  were  seventy  or  eighty  miles  on  their  way  back 
to  the  barracks,  when  they  were  taken.  They  were  passing  un- 
der the  guise  of  deserters  from  Portsmouth. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  esteem  and  respect, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO *. 

RICHMOND,  November  10,  1780. 

SIR, — Your  favor  of  the  3d  instant,  enclosing  Colonel  Pres- 
ton's letter,  came  to  hand  on  the  8th.  The  proposals  mentioned 
in  the  Colonel's  letter,  for  sending  volunteers  to  you,  were  ac- 
cepted, and  put,  as  was  necessary,  into  such  precise  form  as  that 
all  parties  might  know  what  they  had  a  right  to  expect.  In  do- 
ing this,  two  circumstances  happened  to  interfere  with  what  had 
been  expected.  We  required  that  they  should  be  subject  to 
your  orders,  and  those  of  such  other  officer  as  you  should  place 
them  under :  this  was  to  enable  you  to  make  use  of  them  in 

[*  Probably  addressed  to  General  Gates.] 


CORRESPONDENCE.  273 

constituting  the  corps  you  had  proposed  under  General  Morgan  ; 
2,  that  there  should  be  two  companies  of  rifles  only  to  each  bat- 
talion :  this  was  the  advice  of  General  Morgan  in  a  conversa- 
tion with  me.  We  have  since  dispensed  with  the  last  of  these 
conditions,  and  allowed  every  man  to  carry  his  rifle,  as  we  found 
that  absolutely  necessary  to  induce  them  to  go.  Colonel  Skiller, 
of  Boletourt,  writes  me  he  has  150  engaged,  and  we  shall  en- 
deavor to  prevail  upon  Colonel  Campbell  to  raise  another  corps, 
in  which,  if  he  undertakes  it,  I  trust  he  will  succeed.  I  am 
much  at  a  loss  what  should  be  done  as  to  the  prisoners  taken  at 
King's  Mountain.  I  do  not  think  Montgomery  Courthouse  a 
good  place,  because  it  is  very  disaffected.  It  is  too  near  their 
own  country,  and  would  admit  their  co-operation  in  any  enter- 
prize  ou  our  lead  mines,  which  are  about  eight  miles  from 
thence.  I  have  taken  measures  for  continuing  their  march 
under  a  guard  northwardly,  and  in  the  meantime  for  receiving 
instructions  from  Congress  where  to  terminate  their  journey. 
The  British  Convention  troops  will  proceed  immediately  to  Fort 
Frederick  in  Maryland.  The  Germans  will  remain  in  Albemarle 
till  accommodations  can  be  provided  for  them  in  the  same  place. 
From  them  we  have  no  apprehensions  of  desertion  to  the  enemy. 
Some  British  were  taken  yesterday,  who  are  said  to  have  been 
with  the  enemy,  and  were  returning  to  the  barracks.  Two  or 
three  days  ago,  a  British  emissary  from  Portsmouth  was  taken 
endeavoring  to  proceed  -towards  Carolina.  On  a  proposal  to 
search  him,  they  observed  him  to  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  and 
put  something  to  his  mouth  like  a  quid  of  tobacco.  On  exam- 
ination it  was  found  to  be  a  letter,  of  which  the  enclosed  is  a 
copy,  written  on  silk  paper,  rolled  up  in  gold  beater's  skin,  and 
nicely  tied  at  each  end,  the  whole  not  larger  than  a  goose-quill. 
By  this  you  will  find  our  conjectures  verified,  that  they  expected 
to  meet  with  Lord  Cornwallis  in  the  neighborhood  at  least  of 
this  county,  and  are  disappointed  and  without  an  object.  Can 
you  not  take  measures  for  finding  out  the  other  messenger  to 
Lord  Cornwallis,  who  went  by  land  ?  The  force  we  shall  now 

immediately  have  together,  authorizes  me  to  assure  you,  you 
VOL.  i.  18 


274  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

need  not  apprehend  their  penetrating  any  distance  southwardly. 
I  only  lament  that  this  measure  should  have  intercepted  our  re- 
inforcements to  you.  We  have  left  all  the  counties  south  of 
James  River,  and  nearer  to  Hillsborough  than  Portsmouth,  un- 
called on,  that  they  may  be  ready  to  go  to  the  aid  of  our  South- 
ern friends  whenever  arms  can  be  procured. 

I  am,  with  the  greatest  esteem  and  respect,  Sir,  your  most 
obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO   EDWARD    STEVENS. 

RICHMOND,  November  10,  1780. 

SIR, — Your  two  letters  of  October  24th  and  October  —  have 
been  duly  received.  I  have  been  informed  that  the  beeves  which 
have  been  collected  in  Princess  Anne  and  Norfolk,  to  be  sent 
southwardly,  were  the  first  things  which  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  We  received  notice  of  this  invasion  a  few  hours 
after  you  left  this  place,  and  despatched  a  letter  to  recall  you, 
which  we  expected  would  have  found  you  in  Petersburg.  How- 
ever, you  had  gone  on,  and  as  there  should  be  a  general  officer 
with  the  men  from  this  State  in  the  Southern  service,  and  we 
have  here  three  general  officers,  we  have  not  repeated  our  call 
for  your  assistance.  The  force  called  on  to  oppose  the  enemy, 
is  as  yet  in  a  most  chaotic  state,  consisting  of  fragments  of  three 
months'  militia,  eight  months'  men,  eighteen  months'  men,  vol- 
unteers, and  new  militia. 

Were  it  possible  to  arm  men,  we  would  send  on  substantial 
reinforcements  to  you,  notwithstanding  the  presence  of  the  ene- 
my with  us ;  but  the  prospect  of  arms  with  us  is  very  bad  in- 
deed. I  have  never  received  a  line  from  Mr.  Lambe  as  to  his 
success  in  pressing  wagons.  None  have  yet  come  in  from  the 
westward.  The  Executive  were  so  far  from  allowing  the  eight 
months'  men  to  enlist  into  the  Volunteer  Corps,  as  you  say,  they 
pretend  they  were  expressly  excluded  from  it  in  the  several  pro- 
positions we  made  for  raising  volunteers.  Nothing  of  momenc 


CORRESPONDENCE.  275 

has  happened  here  since  the  arrival  of  the  enemy.  General 
Muhlenburg  is  at  Stoaner's  Mills,  at  the  head  of  Pagan  Creek, 
with  our  main  force.  General  Nelson  is  on  the  north  side  of 
James  River  with  another  body.  General  Weeden  is  gone  to 
join  the  one  or  the  other.  A  British  emissary  was  taken  two  or 
three  days  ago  with  a  letter  from  General  Leslie  to  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  informing  him  he  was  at  Portsmouth,  but  could  not  learn 
where  his  Lordship  was  ;  that  he  had  sent  one  letter  to  him  to 
Charlestown  by  water,  another  by  land,  and  waited  his  orders. 
Cannot  measures  be  taken  to  apprehend  the  messenger  who 
went  by  land  ? 

I   am,    with   the   greatest   esteem,    Sir,    your    most  humble 
servant. 


TO    GENERAL    GATES.* 

RICHMOND,  November  19,  1780. 

SIR, — The  vessel  which  had  been  sent  by  General  Leslie  to 
Charlestown,  as  we  supposed,  returned  about  the  12th  instant. 
The  enemy  began  to  embark  soon  after  from  Portsmouth,  and 
in  the  night  of  the  15th,  completed  the  embarkation  of  their 
whole  force.  On  the  morning  of  the  16th,  some  of  our  people 
entered  Portsmouth.  They  had  left  their  works  unfinished  and 
undestroyed.  Great  numbers  of  negroes,  who  had  gone  over  to 
them,  were  left,  either  for  the  want  of  ship-room  or  through 
choice.  They  had  not  moved  from  Elizabeth  river  at  11  o'clock 
a.m.  of  the  16th.  They  gave  out  that  they  intended  to  go  up 
James  River ;  but  the  precipitate  abandoning  of  works  on  receipt 
of  some  communication  or  other  from  Charlestown,  was  not  likely 
to  be  for  the  purpose  of  coming  up  James  River.  I  received  this 
intelligence  by  express  from  General  Muhlenburg  yesterday  morn- 
ing. As  the  enemy's  situation  was  such  as  to  give  reason  to  ex- 

[*  After  the  battle  of  Camdeu — August  16th,  1180 — Congress  removed  General 
Gates  from  the  command  of  the  Southern  army,  and  placed  General  Green  at  its 
head.  In  December,  1780,  he  assumed  the  command.] 


276  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

pect  every  moment  a  movement  in  some  direction,  I  delayed 
sending  off  notice  to  you,  in  hopes  that  that  movement  would 
point  out  their  destination.  But  no  such  information  being  yet 
come  to  hand,  I  think  it  proper  no  longer  to  delay  communicat- 
ing to  you  so  much. 

Since  writing  so  far,  your  favor  of  the  8th  instant  comes  to 
hand,  accompanied  by  one  from  General  Stevens  at  Hillsborough 
of  the  10th — a  strange  derangement,  indeed,  our  riders  have  got 
into,  to  be  nine  days  coming  from  Hillsborough.  I  shall  be  very 
happy  if  the  departure  of  the  enemy,  which  I  hourly  expect  to 
be  confirmed,  shall  leave  us  at  liberty  to  send  you  a  substantial 
reinforcement.  The  meh,being  now  in  the  field,  may  be  marched 
directly  southwardly.  What  may  be  its  precise  amount,  I  can- 
not say,  till  I  get  from  General  Muhlenburg  a  return  of  the 
eighteen  months'  men,  the  eight  months'  men,  and  militia,  who 
had  been  stopped  here  on  their  way  to  the  southward,  and  from 
General  Lawson  a  return  of  the  volunteers  he  has  engaged  to  go 
to  the  southward. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  esteem,  Sir,  your 
most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  November  26,  1180. 

SIR, — I  have  been  honored  with  your  Excellency's  letter  of 
the  8th  instant.  Having  found  it  impracticable  to  move,  sud- 
denly, the  whole  Convention  troops,  British  and  German,  and  it 
being  represented  that  there  could  not,  immediately,  be  covering 
provided  for  them  all  at  Fort  Frederick,  we  concluded  to  march 
off  the  British  first,  from  whom  was  the  principal  danger  of  de- 
sertion, and  to  permit  the  Germans,  who  show  little  disposition 
to  join  the  enemy,  to  remain  in  their  present  quarters  till  some- 
thing further  be  done.  The  British,  accordingly,  marched  the 
20th  instant.  They  cross  the  Blue  Ridge  at  Rock  Fish  Gap, 
and  proceed  along  that  valley.  I  am  to  apprise  your  Excellency, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  277 

that  the  officers  of  every  rank,  both  British  and  German,  but  par- 
ticularly the  former,  have  purchased  within  this  State  some  of 
the  finest  horses  in  it.  You  will  be  pleased  to  determine,  whether 
it  be  proper  that  they  carry  them  within  their  lines.  I  believe 
the  Convention  of  Saratoga  entitles  them  to  keep  the  horses  they 
then  had.  But  I  presume  none  of  the  line,  below  the  rank  of 
field  officers,  had  a  horse.  Considering  the  British  will  be  now 
at  Fort  Frederick,  and  the  Germans  in  Albemarle,  Alexandria 
seems  to  be  the  most  central  point  to  which  there  is  navigation. 
Would  it  not,  therefore,  be  better  that  the  flag  vessel,  solicited  by 
General  Phillips,  should  go  to  that  place  ?  It  is  about  equally 
distant  from  the  two  posts.  The  roads  to  Albemarle  are  good. 
I  know  not  how  those  are  which  lead  to  Fort  Frederick.  Your 
letter  referring  me  to  General  Green,  for  the  mode  of  construct- 
ing light  portable  boats,  unfortunately  did  not  come  to  hand  till 
he  had  left  us.  We  had  before  determined  to  have  something 
done  in  that  way,  and  as  they  are  still  unexecuted,  we  should  be 
greatly  obliged  by  any  draughts  or  hints,  which  could  be  given 
by  any  person  within  the  reach  of  your  Excellency. 

I  received  advice,  that  on  the  22d  instant,  the  enemy's  fleet 
got  all  under  way,  and  were  standing  towards  the  capes :  as  it 
still  remained  undecided  whether  they  would  leave  the  bay  or 
turn  up  it,  I  waited  the  next  stage  of  information,  that  you 
might  so  far  be  enabled  to  judge  of  their  destination.  This  I 
hourly  expected,  but  it  did  not  come  till  this  evening,  when  I 
am  informed  they  all  got  out  to  sea  in  the  night  of  the  22d. 
What  course  they  steered  afterwards,  is  not  known.  I  must  do 
their  General  and  Commander  the  justice  to  say,  that  in  every 
case  to  which  their  attention  and  influence  could  reach,  as  far  as 
I  have  been  well  informed,  their  conduct  was  such  as  does  them 
the  greatest  honor.  In  the  few  instances  of  wanton  and  un- 
necessary devastation,  they  punished  the  aggressors. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Your  Excellency's  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


278  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 


TO    EDWARD    STEVENS. 

RICHMOND,  November  26,  1780. 

SIR, — The  enemy,  which  lately  invaded  us,  left  our  capes  in 
the  night  of  the  22d  instant.  What  course  they  steered  after- 
wards, is  not  known.  Another  fleet  of  transports,  under  the 
command  of  Admiral  Rodney,  fell  down  to  the  Hook  on  the 
llth  instant.  As  this,  as  well  as  the  fleet,  which  lately  left  us, 
is  destined  for  Charleston,  we  shall  march  from  their  present 
encampment  all  the  forces  who  are  so  equipped  as  that  they  can 
proceed  to  distant  service.  With  them,  will  go  on  between  three 
and  four  hundred  tents  belonging  to  this  State.  Three  hundred 
more  are  on  the  road  from  Philadelphia,  and  as  many  to  follow. 
As  Baron  Steuben  remains  here  to  organize  our  forces,  I  shall  be 
obliged,  by  special  returns  of  the  eighteen  months'  men,  eight 
months'  men,  and  three  months'  Militia,  which  have  or  shall 
come  unto  you  as  frequently  as  convenient.  The  Assembly 
being  now  met,  will  shortly,  I  hope,  furnish  us  with  money,  so 
that  we  may  be  once  more  able  to  send  supplies  to  the  south- 
ward. We  have  collected  here,  at  length,  by  impress  principles, 
about  thirty  wagons,  which  have  been  delivered  to  the  Con- 
tinental Quarter-Master,  to  be  sent  on  with  stores  to  Taylor's 
Ferry. 

I  am,  with  great  esteem,  sir, 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    LT.    JOHN    LOUIS    DE    UNGER.* 

RICHMOND,  November  30th,  1780. 

SIR, — The  letter  which  covers  this,  being  of  a  public  nature, 
I  wished  to  acknowledge  separately  the  many  things  personally 
obliging  to  me,  expressed  in  your  two  letters.  The  very  small 
amusement  which  it  has  been  in  my  power  to  furnish,  in  order 

[*  One  of  the  Convention  prisoners,  in  Albemarle.J 


CORRESPONDENCE.  279 

to  lighten  some  of  your  heavy  hours,  by  no  means  merited  the 
acknowledgment  you  make.  Their  impression  must  be  as- 
cribed to  your  extreme  sensibility  rather  than  to  their  own 
weight.  My  wishes  for  your  happiness  give  me  participation  in 
your  joy  at  being  exchanged,  sensibly,  however,  alloyed  by  a 
presentiment  of  the  loss  I  shall  sustain,  when  I  shall  again  be 
permitted  to  withdraw  to  that  scene  of  quiet  retirement,  abstracted 
from  which  I  know  no  happiness  in  this  world.  Your  line  of  life 
must  have  given  you  attachments  to  objects  of  a  very  different 
nature.  When  the  course  of  events  shall  have  removed  you  to 
distant  scenes  of  action,  where  laurels,  not  tarnished  with  the 
blood  of  my  country,  may  be  gathered,  I  shall  urge  sincere 
prayers  for  your  obtaining  every  honor  and  preferment  which 
may  gladden  the  heart  of  a  soldier.  On  the  other  hand,  should, 
your  fondness  for  philosophy  resume  its  merited  ascendancy,  is 
it  impossible  to  hope  that  this  unexplored  country  may  tempt 
your  residence  by  holding  out  materials  wherewith  to  build  a 
fame,  founded  on  the  happiness  and  not  the  calamities  of  human 
nature  ?  Be  this  as  it  may,  whether  philosopher  or  soldier,  I 
wish  you  many  felicities,  and  assure  you  that  I  am,  with  great 
personal  esteem,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  December  15,  1*780. 

SIR, — I  had  the  honor  of  writing  to  your  Excellency  on  the 
subject  of  an  expedition  contemplated  by  this  State,  against  the 
British  post  at  Detroit,  and  of  receiving  your  answer  of  October 
the  10th.  Since  the  date  of  my  letter,  the  face  of  things  has  so 
far  changed,  as  to  leave  it  no  longer  optional  in  us  to  attempt  or 
decline  the  expedition,  but  compels  us  to  decide  in  the  affirma- 
tive, and  to  begin  our  preparations  immediately.  The  army  the 
enemy  at  present  have  in  the  south,  the  reinforcements  still  ex- 


280  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

pec  ted  there,  and  their  determination  to  direct  their  future  exer- 
tions to  that  quarter,  are  not  unknown  to  you.  The  regular  force, 
proposed  on  our  part  to  counteract  those  exertions,  is  such,  either 
from  the  real  or  supposed  inability  of  this  State,  as  by  no  means 
to  allow  a  hope  that  it  may  be  effectual.  It  is,  therefore,  to  be 
expected  that  the  scene  of  war  will  either  be  within  our  country, 
or  very  nearly  advanced  to  it ;  and  that  our  principal  dependence 
is  to  be  on  militia,  for  which  reason  it  becomes  incumbent  to  keep 
as  great  a  proportion  of  our  people  as  possible  free  to  act  in  that 
quarter.  In  the  meantime,  a  combination  is  forming  in  the 
westward,  which,  if  not  diverted,  will  call  thither  a  principal  and 
most  valuable  part  of  our  militia.  From  intelligence  received, 
we  have  reason  to  expect  that  a  confederacy  of  British  and  In- 
dians, to  the  amount  of  two  thousand  men,  is  formed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  spreading  destruction  and  dismay  through  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  our  frontier  in  the  ensuing  spring.  Should  this  take  place, 
we  shall  certainly  lose  in  the  South  all  aids  of  militia  beyond  the 
Blue  Ridge,  besides  the  inhabitants  who  must  fall  a  sacrifice  in 
the  course  of  the  savage  irruptions. 

There  seems  to  be  but  one  method  of  preventing  this,  which 
is,  to  give  the  western  enemy  employment  in  their  own  country. 
The  regular  force  Colonel  Clarke  already  has,  with  a  proper 
draft  from  the  militia  beyond  the  Alleghany,  and  that  of  three  or 
four  of  our  most  northern  counties,  will  be  adequate  to  the  reduc- 
tion of  Fort  Detroit,  in  the  opinion  of  Colonel  Clarke ;  and  he 
assigns  the  most  probable  reasons  for  that  opinion.  We  have, 
therefore,  determined  to  undertake  it,  and  commit  it  to  his  direc- 
tion. Whether  the  expense  of  the  enterprise  shall  be  defrayed 
by  the  Continent  or  State,  we  will  leave  to  be  decided  hereafter 
by  Congress,  in  whose  justice  we  can  confide,  as  to  the  determi- 
nation. In  the  meantime,  we  only  ask  the  loan  of  such  neces- 
saries as,  being  already  at  Fort  Pitt,  will  save  time  and  an  im- 
mense expense  of  transportation.  These  articles  shall  either  be 
identically  or  specifically  returned  ;  should  we  prove  successful, 
it  is  not  improbable  they  may  be  where  Congress  would  choose 
to  keep  them.  I  am,  therefore,  to  solicit  your  Excellency's  or- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  281 

der  to  the  commandant  of  Fort  Pitt,  for  the  articles  contained 
in  the  annexed  list,  which  shall  not  be  called  for  until  every- 
thing is  in  readiness ;  after  which,  there  can  be  no  danger  of 
their  being  wanted  for  the  post  at  which  they  are :  indeed, 
there  are  few  of  the  articles  essential  for  the  defence  of  the 
post. 

I  hope  your  Excellency  will  think  yourself  justified  in  lending 
us  this  aid,  without  awaiting  the  effect  of  an  application  elsewhere, 
as  such  a  delay  would  render  the  undertaking  abortive,  by  post- 
poning it  to  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice  in  the  lake.  Independent 
of  the  favorable  effects,  which  a  successful  enterprise  against  De- 
troit must  produce  to  the  United  States,  in  general,  by  keeping 
in  quiet  the  frontier  of  the  northern  ones,  and  leaving  our  western 
militia  at  liberty  to  aid  those  of  the  South,  we  think  the  like 
friendly  office  performed  by  us  to  the  States,  whenever  desired, 
and  almost  to  the  absolute  exhausture  of  our  own  magazines,  give 
well-founded  hopes  that  we  may  be  accommodated  on  this  occa- 
sion. The  supplies  of  military  stores,  which  have  been  furnished 
by  us  to  Fort  Pitt  itself,  to  the  northern  army,  and,  most  of  all,  to 
the  southern,  are  not  altogether  unknown  to  you.  I  am  the  more 
urgent  for  an  immediate  order,  because  Colonel  Clarke  awaits 
here  your  Excellency's  answer  by  the  express,  though  his  pres- 
ence in  the  western  country,  to  make  preparations  for  the  expe- 
dition, is  so  very  necessary  if  you  enable  him  to  undertake  it. 
To  the  above,  I  must  add  a  request  to  you  to  send  for  us  to  Pitts- 
burg,  persons  proper  to  work  the  mortars^  &c.,  as  Colonel  Clarke 
has  none  such,  nor  is  there  one  in  this  State.  They  shall  be  in 
the  pay  of  this  State,  from  the  time  they  leave  you.  Any  money 
necessary  for  their  journey,  shall  be  repaid  at  Pittsburg,  without 
fail,  by  the  first  of  March. 

At  the  desire  of  the  General  Assembly,  I  take  the  liberty  of 
transmitting  to  you  the  enclosed  resolution ;  and  have  the  honor 
to  be,  with  the  most  perfect  esteem  and  regard,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


282  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  January  10,  1781. 

SIR, — It  may  seem  odd,  considering  the  important  events 
which  have  taken  place  in  this  State  within  the  course  of  ten 
days,  that  I  should  not  have  transmitted  an  account  of  them  to 
your  Excellency ;  but  such  has  been  their  extraordinary  rapidity, 
and  such  the  unremitted  attention  they  have  required  from  all 
concerned  in  government,  that  I  do  not  recollect  the  portion  of 
time  which  I  could  have  taken  to  commit  them  to  paper. 

On  the  31st  of  December,  a  letter,  from  a  private  gentleman  to 
General  Nelson,  came  to  my  hands,  notifying,  that  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  preceding  day,  twenty-seven  sail  of  vessels  had  entered 
the  capes ;  and  from  the  tenor  of  the  letter,  we  had  reason  to 
expect,  within  a  few  hours,  further  intelligence ;  whether  they 
were  friends  or  foes,  their  force,  and  other  circumstances.  We 
immediately  despatched  General  Nelson  to  the  lower  country, 
with  powers  to  call  on  the  militia  in  that  quarter,  or  act  otherwise 
as  exigencies  should  require ;  but  waited  further  intelligence,  be- 
fore we  would  call  for  militia  from  the  middle  or  upper  country. 
No  further  intelligence  came  until  the  2d  instant,  when  the  former 
was  confirmed ;  it  was  ascertained  they  had  advanced  up  James 
River  in  Wanasqueak  bay.  All  arrangements  were  immediately 
taken,  for  calling  in  a  sufficient  body  of  militia  for  opposition  In 
the  night  of  the  3d,  we  received  advice  that  they  were  at  anchor 
opposite  Jamestown ;  we  then  supposed  Williamsburg  to  be  their 
object.  The  wind,  however,  which  had  hitherto  been  unfavor- 
able, shifted  fair,  and  the  tide  being  also  in  their  favor,  they  as- 
cended the  river  to  Kennons'  that  evening,  and,  with  the  next  tide, 
came  up  to  Westover,  having,  on  their  way,  taken  possession  of 
some  works  we  had  at  Hood's,  by  which  two  or  three  of  their 
vessels  received  some  damage,  but  which  were  of  necessity 
abandoned  by  the  small  garrison  of  fifty  men  placed  there,  on  the 
enemy's  landing  to  invest  the  works.  Intelligence  of  their  having 
quitted  the  station  at  Jamestown,  from  which  we  supposed  they 
meant  to  land  for  Williamsburg,  and  of  their  having  got  in  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  283 

evening  to  Kennons',  reached  us  the  next  morning  at  five  o'clock, 
and  was  the  first  indication  of  their  meaning  to  penetrate  towards 
this  place  or  Petersburg.  As  the  orders  for  drawing  militia  here 
had  been  given  but  two  days,  no  opposition  was  in  readiness. 
Every  effort  was  therefore  necessary,  to  withdraw  the  arms  and 
other  military  stores,  records,  &c.,  from  this  place.  Every  effort 
was,  accordingly,  exerted  to  convey  them  to  the  foundry  five 
miles,  and  to  a  laboratory  six  miles,  above  this  place,  till  about 
sunset  of  that  day,  when  we  learned  the  enemy  had  come  to  an 
anchor  at  Westover  that  morning.  We  then  knew  that  this,  and 
not  Petersburg  was  their  object,  and  began  to  carry  across  the 
river  everything  remaining  here,  and  to  remove  what  had  been 
transported  to  the  foundry  and  laboratory  to  Westham,  the 
nearest  crossing,  seven  miles  above  this  place,  which  operation 
was  continued  till  they  had  approached  very  near.  They  marched 
from  Westover  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  4th,  and 
entered  Richmond  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  5th.  A 
regiment  of  infantry  and  about  thirty  horse  continued  on,  without 
halting,  to  the  foundry.  They  burnt  that,  the  boring  mill,  the 
magazine  and  two  other  houses,  and  proceeded  to  Westham ;  but 
nothing  being  in  their  power  there,  they  retired  to  Richmond. 
The  next  morning,  they  burned  some  buildings  of  public  and  pri- 
vate property,  with  what  stores  remained  in  them,  destroyed  a 
great  quantity  of  private  stores,  and  about  twelve  o'clock,  retired 
towards  Westover,  where  they  encamped  within  the  neck  the 
next  day. 

The  loss  sustained  is  not  yet  accurately  known.  As  far  as  I 
have  been  able  to  discover,  it  consisted,  at  this  place,  of  about 
three  hundred  muskets,  some  soldiers'  clothing  to  a  small  amount, 
some  quarter-master's  stores,  of  which  one  hundred  and  twenty 
sides  of  leather  was  the  principal  article,  part  of  the  artificers'  tools, 
and  three  wagons.  Besides  which,  five  brass  four  pounders 
which  we  had  sunk  in  the  river,  were  discovered  to  them,  raised 
and  carried  off.  At  the  foundry  we  lost  the  greater  part  of  the 
papers  belonging  to  the  Auditor's  office,  and  of  the  books  and  pa- 
pers of  the  Council  office.  About  five  or  six  tons  of  powder,  as 


234  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

we  conjecture,  was  thrown  into  the  canal,  of  which  there  will  be 
a  considerable  saving  by  re-manufacturing  it.  The  roof  of  the 
foundry  was  burned,  but  the  stacks  of  chimneys  and  furnaces  not 
at  all  injured.  The  boring  mill  was  consumed.  Within  less  than 
forty-eight  hours  from  the  time  of  their  landing,  and  nineteen 
from  our  knowing  their  destination,  they  had  penetrated  thirty- 
three  miles,  done  the  whole  injury,  and  retired.  Their  numbers, 
from  the  best  intelligence  I  have  had,  are  about  fifteen  hundred 
infantry ;  and,  as  to  their  cavalry,  accounts  vary  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty ;  the  whole  commanded  by  the  parricide 
Arnold.  Our  militia,  dispersed  over  a  large  tract  of  country,  can 
be  called  in  but  slowly.  On  the  day  the  enemy  advanced  to  this 
place,  two  hundred  only  were  embodied.  They  were  of  this 
town  and  its  neighborhood,  and  were  too  few  to  do  anything. 
At  this  time  they  are  assembled  in  pretty  considerable  numbers 
on  the  south  side  of  James  River,  but  are  not  yet  brought  to  a  point. 
On  the  north  side  are  two  or  three  small  bodies,  amounting  in  the 
whole,  to  about  nine  hundred  men.  The  enemy  were  at  four 
o'clock  yesterday  evening  still  remaining  in  their  encampment  at 
Westover  and  Berkeley  neck.  In  the  meanwhile,  Baron  Steu- 
ben,  a  zealous  friend,  has  descended  from  the  dignity  of  his  proper 
command  to  direct  our  smallest  movements.  His  vigilance  has, 
in  a  great  measure,  supplied  the  want  of  force  in  preventing  the 
enemy  from  crossing  the  river,  which  might  have  been  very 
fatal.  He  has  been  assiduously  employed  in  preparing  equip- 
ments for  the  militia  as  they  should  assemble,  pointing  them  to 
a  proper  object,  and  other  offices  of  a  good  commander.  Should 
they  loiter  a  little  longer,  and  he  be  able  to  have  a  sufficient 
force,  I  still  flatter  myself  they  will  not  escape  with  total  im- 
punity. To  what  place  they  will  point  their  next  exertions  we 
cannot  even  conjecture.  The  whole  country  on  the  tide  waters 
and  some  distance  from  them  is  equally  open  to  similar  insult. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  every  sentiment  of  respect,  your 
Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  285 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    THE    PRESIDENT    OF    CONGRESS. 

RICHMOND,  January  15,  1781. 

SIR, — As  the  dangers  which  threaten  our  western  frontiers  the 
ensuing  spring,  render  it  necessary  that  we  should  send  thithei 
Colonel  Crocket's  battalion,  at  present  on  guard  at  Fredericktown, 
but  raised  for  the  western  service,  I  thought  it  necessary  to  give 
your  Excellency  previous  information  thereof,  that  other  forces 
may  be  provided  in  time  to  succeed  to  their  duties.  Captain 
Reid's  troop  of  horse,  if  necessary,  may  be  continued  a  while 
longer  on  guard. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect,  your  Excel- 
lency's most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    THE    PRESIDENT    OF    CONGRESS. 

RICHMOND,  January  15,  1781. 

SIR, — I  received  some  time  ago  from  Major  Forsyth,  and  af- 
terwards from  you,  a  requisition  to  furnish  one  half  of  the  sup- 
plies of  provision  for  the  Convention  troops,  removed  into  Mary- 
land. I  should  sooner  have  done  myself  the  honor  of  writing  to 
you  on  this  subject,  but  that  I  hoped  to  have  laid  it  before  you 
more  fully  than  could  be  done  in  writing,  by  a  gentleman  who 
was  to  pass  on  other  public  business  to  Philadelphia.  The  late 
events  in  this  State  having  retarded  his  setting  out,  I  think  it  my 
duty  no  longer  to  postpone  explanation  on  this  head. 

You  cannot  be  unapprised  of  the  powerful  armies  of  our  en- 
emy, at  this  time  in  this  and  the  southern  States,  and  that  their 
future  plan  is  to  push  their  successes  in  the  same  quarter,  by  still 
larger  reinforcements.  The  forces  to  be  opposed  to  these  must 
be  proportionably  great,  and  these  forces  must  be  fed.  By  whom 
are  they  to  be  fed  ?  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  are  annihilated, 
at  least  as  to  us.  By  the  requisition  to  us  to  send  provisions  into 
Maryland,  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  none  are  to  come  to  the  south- 


286  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

ern  army  from  any  State  north  of  this ;  for  it  would  seem  incon- 
sistent, that  while  we  should  be  sending  North,  Maryland  and 
other  States  beyond  that,  should  be  sending  their  provisions 
South.  Upon  North  Carolina,  then,  already  exhausted  by  the 
ravages  of  two  armies,  and  on  this  State,  are  to  depend  for  sub- 
sistence those  bodies  of  men  who  are  to  oppose  the  greater  part 
of  the  enemy's  force  in  the  United  States,  the  subsistence  of  the 
German,  and  of  half  the  British  Conventioners.  To  take  a 
view  of  this  matter  on  the  Continental  requisitions  of  November 
the  4th,  1780,  for  specific  quotas  of  provisions,  it  is  observable 
that  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  are  to  furnish  10,475,740 
pounds  of  animal  food,  and  13,529  barrels  of  flour,  while  the 
States  north  of  these  will  yield  25,293,810  pounds  of  animal 
food,  and  106,471  barrels  of  flour. 

If  the  greater  part  of  the  British  armies  be  employed  in  the 
South,  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  the  greater  part  of  the  American 
force  will  be  sent  there  to  oppose  them.  But  should  this  be  the 
case,  while  the  distribution  of  the  provisions  is  so  very  unequal, 
would  it  be  proper  to  render  it  still  more  so,  by  withdrawing  a 
part  of  our  contributions  to  the  support  of  posts  northward  of 
us  ?  It  would  certainly  be  a  great  convenience  to  us,  to  deliver 
a  portion  of  our  specifics  at  Fredericktown,  rather  than  in  Caro- 
lina; but  I  leave  it  to  you  to  judge,  whether  this  would  be 
consistent  with  the  general  good  or  safety.  Instead  of  send- 
ing aids  of  any  kind  to  the  northward,  it  seems  but  too  certain 
that  unless  very  timely  and  substantial  assistance  be  received 
from  thence,  our  enemies  are  yet  far  short  of  the  ultimate  term 
of  their  successes.  I  beg  leave,  therefore,  to  refer  to  you  whether 
the  specifics  of  Maryland,  as  far  as  shall  be  necessary,  had  not 
better  be  applied  to  the  support  of  the  posts  within  it,  for  which 
its  quota  is  much  more  than  sufficient,  or,  were  it  otherwise 
whether  those  of  the  States  north  of  Maryland  had  not  better 
be  called  on,  than  to  detract  anything  from  the  resources  of  the 
southern  opposition,  already  much  too  small  for  the  encounter  to 
which  it  is  left.  I  am  far  from  wishing  to  count  or  measure  our 
contributions  by  the  requisitions  of  Congress.  Were  they  ever 


CORRESPONDENCE.  287 

so  much  beyond  these,  I  should  readily  strain  them  in  aid  of  any 
one  of  our  sister  States.  But  while  they  are  so  far  short  of  those 
calls  to  which  they  must  be  pointed  in  the  first  instance,  it  would 
be  great  misapplication  to  divert  them  to  any  other  purpose  ; 
and  I  am  persuaded  you  will  think  me  perfectly  within  the  line 
of  duty,  when  I  ask  a  revisal  of  this  requisition. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect,  sir, 

Your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY  THE    PRESIDENT    OF    CONGRESS. 

RICHMOND,  January  17,  1781. 

SIR, — I  do  myself  the  honor  of  transmitting  to  your  Excel- 
lency a  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Common- 
wealth, entered  into  in  consequence  of  the  resolution  of 
Congress  of  September  the  6th,  1780,  on  the  subject  of  the  Con- 
federation. I  shall  be  rendered  very  happy  if  the  other  States 
of  the  Union,  equally  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  that  im- 
portant convention,  shall  be  willing  to  sacrifice  equally  to  its  com- 
pletion. This  single  event,  could  it  take  place  shortly,  would 
overweigh  every  success  which  the  enemy  have  hitherto  ob- 
tained, and  render  desperate  the  hopes  to  which  those  successes 
have  given  birth. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  real  esteem  and  respect, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    THE    VIRGINIA    DELEGATES    IN    CONGRESS. 

RICHMOND,  January  18,  1781. 

GENTLEMEN, — I  enclose  you  a  Resolution  of  Assembly,  direct- 
ing your  conduct  as  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  loss  of  powder  lately  sustained  by  us  (about  five  tons), 
together  with  the  quantities  sent  on  to  the  southward,  have  re- 


288  JEFFERSON'S   WORKS. 

duced  our  stock  very  low  indeed.  We  lent  to  Congress,  in  tho 
course  of  the  last  year  (previous  to  our  issues  for  the  southern 
army),  about  ten  tons  of  powder.  I  shall  be  obliged  to  you,  to 
procure  an  order  from  the  board  of  war,  for  any  quantity  from 
five  to  ten  tons,  to  be  sent  us  immediately  from  Philadelphia  or 
Baltimore,  and  to  enquire  into  and  hasten,  from  time  to  time, 
the  execution  of  it.  The  stock  of  cartridge-paper  is  nearly  ex- 
hausted. I  do  not  know  whether  Captain  Irish,  or  what  other 
officer,  should  apply  for  this.  It  is  essential  that  a  good  stock 
should  be  forwarded,  and  without  a  moment's  delay.  If  there 
be  a  rock  on  which  we  are  to  split,  it  is  the  want  of  muskets, 
bayonets  and  cartouch-boxes. 

The  occurrences,  since  my  last  to  the  President,  are  not  of  any 
magnitude.  Three  little  rencounters  have  happened  with  the 
enemy.  In  the  first,  General  Smallwood  led  on  a  party  of  two 
or  three  hundred  militia,  and  obliged  some  armed  vessels  of  the 
enemy  to  retire  from  a  prize  they  had  taken  at  Broadway's,  and 
renewing  his  attack  the  next  day  with  a  four-pounder  or  two  (for 
on  the  first  day  he  had  only  muskets),  he  obliged  some  of  their 
vessels  to  fall  down  from  City  Point  to  their  main  fleet  at  West- 
over.  The  enemy's  loss  is  not  known  ;  ours  was  four  men 
wounded.  One  of  the  evenings,  during  their  encampment  at 
Westover  and  Berkeley,  their  light  horse  surprised  a  party  of  about 
one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  militia  at  Charles  City 
Court  House,  killed  and  wounded  four,  and  took,  as  has  been 
generally  said,  about  seven  or  eight.  On  Baron  Steuben's  ap- 
proach towards  Hood's,  they  embarked  at  Westover  ;  the  wind 
which,  till  then,  had  set  directly  up  the  river  from  the  time  of 
their  leaving  Jamestown,  shifted  in  the  moment  to  the  opposite 
point.  Baron  Steuben  had  not  reached  Hood's,  by  eight  or  ten 
miles,  when  they  arrived  there.  They  landed  their  whole  army 
in  the  night,  Arnold  attending  in  person.  Captain  Clarke  (of 
Kaskaskias)  had  been  sent  on  with  two  hundred  and  forty  men 
by  Baron  Steuben,  and  having  properly  disposed  of  them  in  am- 
buscade, gave  them  a  deliberate  fire,  which  killed  seventeen  on 
the  spot,  and  wounded  thirteen.  They  returned  it  in  confusion 


CORRESPONDENCE.  289 

by  which  we  had  three  or  four  wounded,  and  our  party  being  so 
small  and  without  bayonets,  were  obliged  to  retire,  on  the 
enemy's  charging  with  bayonets.  They  fell  down  to  Cobham, 
whence  they  carried  all  the  tobacco  there  (about  sixty  hogs- 
heads) ;  and  the  last  intelligence  was,  that  on  the  16th,  they 
were  standing  for  New-ports-news.  Baron  Steuben  is  of  opinion, 
they  are  proceeding  to  fix  a  post  in  some  of  the  lower  counties. 
Later  information  has  given  no  reason  to  believe  their  force  more 
considerable  than  we  at  first  supposed.  I  think,  since  the  arrival 
of  the  three  transports  which  had  been  separated  in  a  storm,  they 
may  be  considered  as  about  two  thousand  strong.  Their  naval 
force,  according  to  the  best  intelligence,  is  the  Charon,  of  forty- 
four  guns,  Commodore  Symmonds,  the  Amphitrite,  Iris,  Thames, 
and  Charlestown  frigates,  the  Forvey,  of  twenty  guns,  two  sloops 
of  war,  a  privateer  ship  and  two  brigs.  We  have  about  thirty- 
seven  hundred  militia  embodied,  but  at  present  they  are  divided 
into  three  distant  encampments :  one  under  General  Weeden,  at 
Fredericksburg,  for  the  protection  of  the  important  works  there  ; 
another  under  General  Nelson,  at  and  near  Williamsburg ;  and  a 
third  under  Baron  Steuben,  at  Cabin  Point.  As  soon  as  the 
enemy  fix  themselves,  these  will  be  brought  to  a  point. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  very  great  respect,  gentlemen, 
your  most  obedient  servant. 


To 


RICHMOND,  January  21,  1781. 

SIR, — Acquainted  as  you  are  with  the  treasons  of  Arnold,  I  need 
say  nothing  for  your  information,  or  to  give  you  a  proper  senti- 
ment of  them.  You  will  readily  suppose,  that  it  is  above  all 
things  desirable  to  drag  him  from  those  under  whose  wing  he  is 
now  sheltered.  On  his  march  to  and  from  this  place,  I  am  cer- 

[*  This  letter  has  no  address,  but  it  was  probably  to  General  Muhlenburg.] 
VOL.  I.  19 


290  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

tain  it  might  have  been  done  with  facility  by  men  of  enterprise 
and  firmness.  I  think  it  may  still  be  done,  though  perhaps  not 
quite  so  easily.  Having  peculiar  confidence  in  the  men  from  the 
western  side  of  the  mountains,  I  meant,  as  soon  as  they  should 
come  down,  to  get  the  enterprise  proposed  to  a  chosen  number 
of  them  :  such  whose  courage  and  whose  fidelity  would  be 
above  all  doubt.  Your  perfect  knowledge  of  those  men  person- 
ally, and  my  confidence  in  your  discretion,  induces  me  to  ask 
you  to  pick  from  among  them  proper  characters,  in  such  numbers 
as  you  think  best,  to  reveal  to  them  our  desire,  and  engage  them 
to  undertake  to  seize  and  bring  off  this  greatest  of  all  traitors. 
Whether  this  may  be  best  affected  by  their  going  in  as  friends, 
and  awaiting  their  opportunity,  or  otherwise,  is  left  to  themselves. 
The  smaller  the  number  the  better,  so  that  they  be  sufficient  to 
manage  him.  Every  necessary  caution  must  be  used  on  their 
part,  to  prevent  a  discovery  of  their  design  by  the  enemy,  as, 
should  they  be  taken,  the  laws  of  war  will  justify  against  them 
the  most  rigorous  sentence.  I  will  undertake,  if  they  are  suc- 
cessful in  bringing  him  off  alive,  that  they  shall  receive  five 
thousand  guineas  reward  among  them.  And  to  men,  formed  for 
such  an  enterprise,  it  must  be  a  great  incitement  to  know  that 
their  names  will  be  recorded  with  glory  in  history,  with  those 
of  Vanwert,  Paulding,  and  Williams.  The  enclosed  order  from 
Baron  Steuben  will  authorize  you  to  call  for  and  dispose  of  any 
force  you  may  think  necessary,  to  place  in  readiness  for  covering 
the  enterprise  and  securing  the  retreat  of  the  party.  Mr.  New- 
ton, the  bearer  of  this,  and  to  whom  its  contents  are  communi- 
cated in  confidence,  will  provide  men  of  trust  to  go  as  guides. 
These  may  be  associated  in  the  enterprise  or  not,  as  you  please. 
But  let  that  point  be  previously  settled,  that  no  difficulties  may 
arise  as  to  the  parties  entitled  to  participate  of  the  reward.  You 
know  how  necessary  profound  secrecy  is  in  this  business,  even 
if  it  be  not  undertaken. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  291 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  February  8, 1*781. 

SIR, — I  have  just  received  intelligence,  which,  though  from  a 
private  hand,  I  believe  is  to  be  relied  on,  that  a  fleet  of  the  ene- 
my's ships  have  entered  Cape  Fear  river,  that  eight  of  them  had 
got  over  the  bar,  and  many  others  were  laying  off ;  and  that  it 
was  supposed  to  be  a  reinforcement  to  Lord  Cornwallis,  under 
the  command  of  General  Prevost.  This  account,  which  had 
.  come  through  another  channel,  is  confirmed  by  a  letter  from 
General  Parsons  at  Halifax,  to  the  gentleman  who  forwards  it 
to  me.  I  thought  it  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  communi- 
cated to  your  Excellency  by  the  stationed  expresses.  The  fatal 
want  of  arms  puts  it  out  of  our  power  to  bring  a  greater  force 
into  the  field,  than  will  barely  suffice  to  restrain  the  adventures 
of  the  pitiful  body  of  men  they  have  at  Portsmouth.  Should 
any  more  be  added  to  them,  this  country  will  be  perfectly  open 
to  them,  by  land  as  well  as  water. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  all  possible  respect,  your  Excel- 
lency's most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  February  12,  178!. 

SIR, — The  enclosed  extract  of  a  letter  from  Governor  Nash,* 
which  I  received  this  day,  being  a  confirmation  of  the  intelli- 
gence I  transmitted  in  a  former  letter,  I  take  the  liberty  of  trans- 
mitting it  to  your  Excellency.  I  am  informed,  through  a  private 
channel  on  which  I  have  considerable  reliance,  that  the  enemy 
had  landed  five  hundred  troops  under  the  command  of  a  Major 
Craig,  who  were  joined  by  a  number  of  disaffected ;  that  they 
had  penetrated  forty  miles ;  that  their  aim  appeared  to  be  the 

[*  Governor  of  North  Carolina.] 


292  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

magazine  at  Kingston,  from  which  place  they  were  about  twenty 
miles  distant. 

Baron  Steuben  transmits  to  your  Excellency  a  letter  from  Gen- 
eral Greene,  by  which  you  will  learn  the  events  which  have 
taken  place  in  that  quarter  since  the  defeat  of  Colonel  Tarleton, 
by  General  Morgan.  These  events  speak  best  for  themselves, 
and  no  doubt  will  suggest  what  is  necessary  to  be  done  to  pre- 
vent the  successive  losses  of  State  after  State,  to  which  the 
want  of  arms  and  of  a  regular  soldiery,  seem  more  especially  to 
expose  those  in  the  South. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  every  sentiment  of  respect,  your 
Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  February  17,  1781. 

SIR, — By  a  letter  from  .General  Greene,  dated  Guilford  Court 
House,  February  10th,  we  are  informed  that  Lord  Cornwallis 
had  burnt  his  own  wagons,  in  order  to  enable  himself  to  move 
with  greater  facility,  and  had  pressed  immediately  on.*  The 

[*  General  Greene,  after  taking  command  of  the  Southern  army,  divided  his  force, 
and  sent  one  division  of  it,  under  General  Morgan,  to  the  western  part  of  South 
Carolina.  Cornwallis,  who  was  now  nearly  prepared  to  invade  North  Carolina,  un- 
willing to  leave  Morgan  in  his  rear,  sent  Tarleton  in  pursuit  of  him.  The  two  de- 
tachments met  on  the  17th  of  January,  1781,  when  the  battle  of  Cow  pen  a  was 
fought,  and  Tarleton  defeated.  Cornwallis,  after  the  defeat  of  Tarleton,  abandoned 
the  invasion  of  North  Carolina  for  the  present,  and  started  in  pursuit  of  Morgan. 
Greene,  suspecting  his  intention,  hastened  to  join  Morgan,  and,  after  a  fatiguing 
march,  effected  a  junction  at  Guilford  Court  House.  Daring  this  march  he  was 
closely  pursued  by  Cornwallis,  who,  as  .stated  in  the  above  letter,  "  burnt  his  own 
wagons  in  order  to  enable  himself  to  move  with  greater  facility."  After  this  junc- 
tion at  Guilford  Court  House,  Greene  crossed  the  Dan,  into  Virginia — again  narrowly 
escaping  the  pursuit  of  Cornwallis,  who  now  retired  to  Hillsborough,  where,  erect- 
ing the  royal  standard,  he  issued  his  proclamation,  inviting  the  loyalists  to  join  him, 
and  sent  Tarleton  with  a  detachment  to  support  a  body  of  them  collected  between 
the  Havre  and  Deep  Rivers.  Greene,  having  despatched  Generals  Pickens  and  Lee 
to  watch  the  movements  of  Tarleton,  and  having  been  reinforced  in  Virginia,  now 


CORRESPONDENCE.  293 

prisoners  taken  at  the  Cowpens,  were  happily  saved  by  the  ac- 
cidental rise  of  a  water-course,  which  gave  so  much  time  as  to 
withdraw  them  from  the  reach  of  the  enemy.  Lord  Cornwallis 
had  advanced  to  the  vicinities  of  the  Moravian  towns,  and  was 
stiJl  moving  on  rapidly.  His  object  was  supposed  to  be  to  com- 
pel General  Greene  to  an  action,  which,  under  the  difference  of 
force  they  had,  would  probably  be  ruinous  to  the  latter.  Gen- 
eral Greene  meant  to  retire  by  the  way  of  Boyd's  ferry,  on  the 
Roanoke.  As  yet  he  had  lost  little  or  no  stores  or  baggage,  but 
they  were  far  from  being  safe.  In  the  instant  of  receiving  this 
intelligence,  we  ordered  a  reinforcement  of  militia  to  him,  from 
the  most  convenient  counties  in  which  there  was  a  hope  of  find- 
ing any  arms.  Some  great  event  must  arise  from  the  present 
situation  of  things,  which,  for  a  long  time,  will  determine  the 
condition  of  southern  affairs. 

Arnold  lies  close  in  his  quarters.  Two  days  ago,  I  received 
information  of  the  arrival  of  a  sixty-four  gun  ship  and  two  frig- 
ates in  our  bay,  being  part  of  the  fleet  of  our  good  ally  at  Rhode 
Island.  Could  they  get  at  the  British  fleet  here,  they  are  sufli- 
3ient  to  destroy  them  ;  but  these  being  drawn  up  into  Elizabeth 
River,  into  which  the  sixty-four  cannot  enter,  I  apprehend  they 
could  do  nothing  more  than  block  up  the  river.  This,  indeed, 
would  reduce  the  enemy,  as  we  could  cut  off  their  supplies  by 
land  ;  but  the  operation  being  tedious,  would  probably  be  too 
dangerous  for  the  auxiliary  force.  Not  having  yet  had  any  par- 
ticular information  of  the  designs  of  the  French  Commander,  I 
cannot  pretend  to  say  what  measures  this  aid  will  lead  to. 

Our  proposition  to  the  Cherokee  Chiefs,  to  visit  Congress,  for 
the  purpose  of  preventing  or  delaying  a  rupture  with  that  nation, 
was  too  late.  Their  distresses  had  too  much  ripened  their  alien- 
ation from  us,  and  the  storm  had  gathered  to  a  head,  when  Major 
Martin  got  back.  It  was  determined  to  carry  the  war  into  their 
country,  rather  than  await  it  in  ours,  and  thus  disagreeably  cir- 
cumstanced, the  issue  has  been  successful. 

returned  into  North  Carolina,  and  fought  the  battle  of  GUiilford  Court  House  on  the 
th  of  March,  1781.— ED.] 


294  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

The  militia  of  this  State  and  North  Carolina  penetrated  into 
their  country,  burned  almost  every  town  they  had,  amounting  tc 
about  one  thousand  houses  in  the  whole,  destroyed  fifty  thousand 
bushels  of  grain,  killed  twenty-nine,  and  took  seventeen  prisoners. 
The  latter  are  mostly  women  and  children. 

I  enclose  your  Excellency  the  particulars  as  reported  to  me. 
Congress  will  be  pleased  to  determine  on  Col.  Campbell's  propo- 
sition to  build  the  fort  at  the  confluence  of  the  Holston  and  Ten- 
nessee. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c.,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient 
humble  servant, 

P.  S.  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  received  information 
which,  though  not  authentic,  deserves  attention :  that  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  had  got  to  Boyd's  ferry  on  the  14th.  I  am  issuing  orders, 
in  consequence,  to  other  counties,  to  embody  and  march  all  the 
men  they  can  arm.  In  this  fatal  situation,  without  arms,  there 
will  be  no  safety  for  the  Convention  troops  but  in  their  removal, 
which  I  shall  accordingly  order.  The  prisoners  of  the  Cowpens 
were  at  New  London  (Bedford  Court  House)  on  the  14th. 


TO    GENERAL    GATES. 

RICHMOND,  February  17,  1781. 

DEAR  GENERAL, — The  situation  of  affairs  here  and  in  Carolina, 
is  such  as  must  shortly  turn  up  important  events,  one  way  or  the 
other.  By  letter  from  General  Greene,  dated  Guilford  Court 
House,  February  the  10th,  I  learn  that  Lord  Cornwallis,  rendered 
furious  by  the  affair  at  the  Cowpens  and  the  surprise  of  George- 
town, had  burned  his  own  wagons,  to  enable  himself  to  move 
with  facility,  had  pressed  on  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Moravian 
towns,  and  was  still  advancing.  The  prisoners,  taken  at  the  Cow- 
pens,  were  saved  by  a  hair's-breadth  accident,  and  Greene  was 
retreating.  His  force,  two  thousand  regulars,  and  no  militia ; 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

Cornwallis's,  three  thousand.  General  Davidson  was  killed  in  a 
skirmish.  Arnold  lies  still  at  Portsmouth  with  fifteen  hundred 
men.  A  French  sixty-four  gun  ship,  and  two  frigates  of  thirty- 
six  each,  arrived  in  our  bay  three  days  ago.  They  would  suffice 
to  destroy  the  British  shipping  here  (a  forty  four  frigate,  and  a 
twenty,)  could  they  get  at  them.  But  these  are  withdrawn  up 
Elizabeth  river,  which  the  sixty-four  cannot  enter.  We  have 
ordered  about  seven  hundred  riflemen  from  Washington,  Mont- 
gomery and  Bedford,  and  five  hundred  common  militia  from 
Pittsylvania  and  Henry,  to  reinforce  General  Greene ;  and  five 
hundred  new  levies  will  march  from  Chesterfield  Court  House, 
in  a  few  days.  I  have  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  southwestern 
counties  will  have  turned  out  in  greater  numbers  before  our  orders 
reach  them. 

I  have  been  knocking  at  the  door  of  Congress  for  aids  of  all 
kinds,  but  especially  of  arms,  ever  since  the  middle  of  summer. 
The  speaker,  Harrison,  is  gone  to  be  heard  on  that  subject. 
Justice,  indeed,  requires  that  we  should  be  aided  powerfully. 
Yet  if  they  would  repay  us  the  arms  we  have  lent  them,  we 
should  give  the  enemy  trouble,  though  abandoned  to  ourselves. 

After  repeated  applications,  I  have  obtained  a  warrant  for  your 
advance  money,  £18,000,  which  I  have  put  into  the  hands  of  Mr. 
McAlister,  to  receive  the  money  from  the  Treasurer,  and  carry  it 
to  you. 

I  am,  with  very  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  ser- 
vant. 


TO    COLONEL    CAMPBELL. 

RICHMOND,  February  17,  1781, 

SIR, — I  have  received  your  several  favors  by  Mr.  Sathim,  and 
am  much  pleased  at  the  happy  issue  of  the  expedition  against 
the  Cherokees.  I  wish  it  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
about  peace,  which,  under  our  present  circumstances,  is  as  neces- 
sary for  us,  as  it  can  possibly  be  to  them. 


296  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

If  you  can  effect  this,  a  right  should  be  reserved  of  building  a 
fort  at  the  confluence  of  Holston  and  Tennessee ;  a  matter 
which  we  must  refer  to  Congress,  as  it  lies  not  within  our  boun- 
dary. The  prisoners  you  have  taken  had  better  be  kept  for  the 
purpose  of  exchanging  for  any  of  ours  taken  by  them.  Should 
any  surplus  be  on  hand  at  the  conclusion  of  peace,  they  should 
be  given  up.  Nancy  Ward  seems  rather  to  have  taken  refuge 
with  you.  In  this  case,  her  inclination  ought  to  be  followed  as 
to  what  is  done  with  her. 

As  by  our  laws,  the  pay  of  militia  is  made  the  same  with  that 
of  the  Continental  troops,  and  that,  by  a  resolution  of  Congress, 
is  to  be  in  the  new  money  of  March  18th,  1780,  or  in  old  money 
at  forty  for  one,  I  apprehend  you  will  be  paid  at  that  rate.  By 
a  late  arrangement,  the  Commissary  is  directed  to  have  a  deputy 
in  every  county.  I  hope  that  by  their  means  the  militia  may 
henceforward  be  better  supplied  with  provisions  when  proceed- 
ing on  an  expedition.  The  fort  at  Powell's  Valley  you  will 
please  to  proceed  on.  We  approve  of  the  company  you  have 
raised  for  patrolling  against  the  Indians  and  garrisoning  the 
fort. 

I  am,  with  much  respect,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  February  26,  1781. 

Sm, — I  gave  you  information  in  my  last  letter,  that  General 
Greene  had  crossed  the  Dan,  at  Boyd's  ferry,  and  that  Lord 
Cornwallis  had  arrived  at  the  opposite  shore.  Large  reinforce- 
ments of  militia  having  embodied  both  in  front  and  rear  of  the 
enemy,  he  is  retreating  with  as  much  rapidity  as  he  advanced  ; 
his  route  is  towards  Hillsborough.  General  Greene  re-crossed 
the  Dan  on  the  21st,  in  pursuit  of  him.  I  have  the  pleasure  to 
inform  you,  that  the  spirit  of  opposition  was  as  universal  as  could 
have  been  wished  for.  There  was  no  restraint  on  the  numbers 
that  embodied,  but  the  want  of  arms. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  297 

The  British  at  Portsmouth  lie  close  in  their  lines.  The  French 
squadron  keep  them  in  by  water,  and  since  their  arrival,  as  they 
put  it  out  of  the  power  of  the  enemy  to  cut  off  our  retreat  by 
sending  up  Nansemond  river,  our  force  has  been  moved  down 
close  to  their  lines. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect, 

Your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    M.   DE    MARBOIS.* 

RICHMOND,  March  4th,  1781. 

SIR, — I  have  been  honored  with  your  letter  of  Feb.  5th. 
Mr.  Jones  did  put  into  my  hands  a  paper  containing  sundry  in- 
quiries into  the  present  state  of  Virginia,  which  he  informed  me 
was  from  yourself,  and  some  of  which  I  meant  to  do  myself  the 
honor  of  answering. 

Hitherto  it  has  been  in  my  power  to  collect  a  few  materials 
only,  which  my  present  occupations  disable  me  from  completing. 
I  mean,  however,  shortly  to  be  in  a  condition  which  will  leave 
me  quite  at  leisure  to  take  them  up,  when  it  shall  be  one  of  my 
first  undertakings  to  give  you  as  full  information  as  I  shall  be  able 
to  do  on  such  of  the  subjects  as  are  within  the  sphere  of  my  ac- 
quaintance. On  some  of  them,  however,  I  trust  Mr.  Jones  will 
engage  abler  hands.  Those  in  particular  which  relate  to  the 
commerce  of  the  State,  a  subject  with  which  I  am  wholly  unac- 
quainted, and  which  is  probably  the  most  important  in  your  plan. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  March  8th,  1781. 

SIR, — I  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  a  letter  from  General 
Greene,  dated  High-rock  Ford,  February  29th  (probably  March  the 

[*  M.  de  Marbois  was  attached  to  the  French  Legation  in  Philadelphia. — ED.] 


298  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

1st),  who  informs  me,  that  on  the  night  of  the  24th  Colonel  McCal] 
surprised  a  subaltern's  guard  at  Hart's  Mill,  killed  eight,  and 
wounded  and  took  nine  prisoners,  and  that  on  the  25th  Gen- 
eral Pickens  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Lee  routed  a  body  of  near 
three  hundred  Tories  on  the  Haw  river,  who  were  in  arms  to 
join  the  British  army,  killed  upwards  of  one  hundred,  and 
wounded  most  of  the  rest,  which  had  a  very  happy  effect  on  the 
disaffected  in  that  country. 

By  a  letter  from  Major  Magill,  an  officer  of  this  State,  whom 
I  had  sent  to  General  Greene's  head-quarters  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  us  regular  intelligence,  dated  Guilford  County,  March  2d, 
I  am  informed  that  Lord  Cornwallis,  on  his  retreat,  erected  the 
British  standard  at  Hillsborough,  that  a  number  of  disaffected 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Piles  were  resorting  to  it,  when 
they  were  intercepted  by  General  Pickens  and  Lieutenant  Col- 
onel Lee,  as  mentioned  by  General  Greene,  and  that  their  com- 
manding officer  was  among  the  slain  :  that  Lord  Cornwallis,  after 
destroying  everything  he  could,  moved  down  the  Haw  river 
from  Hillsborough :  that  General  Greene  was  within  six  miles 
of  him :  that  our  superiority  in  the  goodness,  though  not  in  the 
number  of  our  cavalry,  prevented  the  enemy  from  moving  with  rap- 
idity or  foraging.  Having  been  particular  in  desiring  Major  Magill 
to  inform  me  what  corps  of  militia  from  this  State  joined  Gen- 
eral Greene,  he  accordingly  mentioned  that  seven  hundred  under 
General  Stevens,  and  four  hundred  from  Botetourt,  had  actually 
joined  him  ;  that  Colonel  Campbell  was  to  join  him  that  day  with 
six  hundred,  and  that  Colonel  Lynch  with  three  hundred  from 
Bedford,  was  shortly  expected :  the  last  three  numbers  being 
riflemen.  Besides  these  mentioned  by  Major  Magill,  General 
Lawson  must,  before  this,  have  crossed  Roanoke  with  a  body 
of  militia,  the  number  of  which  has  not  been  stated  to  me.  Re- 
port makes  them  a  thousand ;  but  I  suppose  the  number  to  be 
exaggerated.  Four  hundred  of  our  new  levies  left  Chesterfield 
Court  House  on  the  25th  February,  and  probably  would  cross 
the  Roanoke  about  the  1st  or  2d  of  March. 

I  was  honored  with  your  Excellency's  letter  of  February  the 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

* 

21st,  within  seven  days  after  its  date.  We  have,  accordingly, 
been  making  every  preparation  on  our  part  which  we  are  able  to 
make.  The  militia  proposed  to  co-operate,  will  be  upwards  of 
four  thousand  from  this  State,  and  one  thousand  or  twelve  hun- 
dred from  Carolina,  said  to  be  under  General  Gregory.  The  en- 
emy are,  at  this  time,  in  a  great  measure  blockaded  by  land, 
there  being  a  force  on  the  east  side  of  Elizabeth  river.  They 
suffer  for  provisions,  as  they  are  afraid  to  venture  far,  lest  the 
French  squadron  should  be  in  the  neighborhood,  and  come  upon 
them.  Were  it  possible  to  block  up  the  river,  a  little  time  would 
suffice  to  reduce  them  by  want  and  desertions,  and  would  be  more 
sure  in  its  event  than  an  attempt  by  storm.  I  shall  be  very 
happy  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  hand  you  a  favorable  account 
of  these  two  armies  in  the  South. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  esteem  and  respect, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY   THE    PRESIDENT    OF    CONGRESS. 

RICHMOND,  March  19,  1781. 

SIR, — I  have  the  honor  of  enclosing  to  your  Excellency  a  copy 
of  a  letter  from  General  Greene,  with  some  other  intelligence  re- 
ceived, not.doubting  your  anxiety  to  know  the  movements  in  the 
South.  I  find  we  have  deceived  ourselves  not  a  little  by  count- 
ing on  the  whole  numbers  of  the  militia  which  have  been  in 
motion,  as  if  they  had  all  remained  with  General  Greene,  when, 
in  fact,  they  seem  only  to  have  visited  and  quitted  him. 

The  Marquis  Fayette  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  15th.  His 
troops  still  remained  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  till  the  appearance 
of  some  force  which  should  render  their  passage  down  safe. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  esteem 
and  respect,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble 
servant. 


300  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS 

TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    THE    PKESIDENT    OF    CONGRESS. 

RICHMOND  March  21,  1781. 

SIR, — The  enclosed  letter  will  inform  you  of  the  arrival  of  a 
British  fleet  in  the  Chesapeake  bay. 

The  extreme  negligence  of  our  stationed  expresses  is  no  doubt 
the  cause  why,  as  yet,  no  authentic  account  has  reached  us  of  a 
general  action,  which  happened  on  the  15th  instant,  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  Guilford  Court  House,  between  General  Greene 
and  Lord  Cornwallis.  Captain  Singleton,  an  intelligent  officer 
of  Harrison's  artillery,  who  was  in  the  action,  has  this  moment 
arrived  here,  and  gives  the  general  information  that  both  parties 
were  prepared  and  desirous  for  action  ;  the  enemy  were  supposed 
about  twenty-five  hundred  strong,  our  army  about  four  thousand. 
That,  after  a  very  warm  and  general  engagement,  of  about  an 
hour  and  a  half,  we  retreated  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
field,  in  good  order,  having,  as  he  supposed,  between  two  and 
three  hundred  killed  and  wounded :  the  enemy  between  five 
and  seven  hundred  killed  and  wounded ;  that  we  lost  four  pieces 
of  artillery  :  that  the  militia,  as  well  as  regulars,  behaved  exceed- 
ingly well :  that  General  Greene,  he  believes,  would  have  re- 
newed the  action  the  next  day,  had  it  not  proved  rainy,  and 
would  renew  it  as  soon  as  possible,  as  he  supposes :  that  the 
whole  of  his  troops,  both  regulars  and  militia,  were  in  high 
spirits  and  wishing  a  second  engagement :  that  the  loss  has  fallen 
pretty  equally  on  the  militia  and  regulars :  that  General  Stevens 
received  a  ball  through  the  thigh.  Major  Anderson,  of  Mary- 
land, was  killed,  and  Captain  Barrett,  of  Washington's  cavalry  ; 
Captain  Fauntleroy,  of  the  same  cavalry,  was  shot  through  the 
thigh,  and  left  on  the  field. 

Captain  Singleton;  having  left  the  camp  the  day  after  the  bat- 
tle, does  not  speak  from  particular  returns,  none  such  having 
been  then  made.  I  must  inform  your  Excellency  from  him,  till 
more  regular  applications  can  reach  you,  that  they  are  in  extreme 
want  of  lead,  cartridge  paper  and  thread.  I  think  it  improper, 
however  it  might  urge  an  instantaneous  supply,  to  repeat  to  you 


COKEESPONDENCE.  301 

his  statement  of  the  extent  of  their  stock  of  these  articles.  In  a 
former  letter,  I  mentioned  to  you  the  failure  of  the  vein  of  our 
lead  mines,  which  has  left  the  army  here  in  a  state  of  equal  dis- 
tress and  danger. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  very  high  respect  and  esteem, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 

P.  S.  Look-out  boats  have  been  ordered  from  the  seaboard 
of  the  eastern  shore,  to  apprise  the  Commander  of  the  French 
fleet,  on  its  approach,  of  the  British  being  in  the  Chesapeake. 


TO  HIS  EXCELLENCY  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  CONGRESS. 

In  Council,  RICHMOND,  March  26,  17S1. 

SIR, — The  appointment  of  commissioner  to  the  war  office  of 
this  State,  having  lately  become  vacant,  the  Executive  are  de- 
sirous to  place  Colonel  William  Davies,  of  the  Virginian  Conti- 
nentals, in  that  office.  This  gentleman,  however,  declines  un- 
dertaking it,  unless  his  rank  in  the  army,  half  pay  for  life  and 
allowance  for  depreciation  of  pay,  can  be  reserved  to  him ;  ob- 
serving with  justice,  that  these  emoluments,  distant  as  they  are, 
are  important  to  a  person  who  has  spent  the  most  valuable  part 
of  his  youth  in  the  service  of  his  country.  As  this  indulgence 
rests  in  the  power  of  Congress  alone,  I  am  induced  to  request  it 
of  them  on  behalf  of  the  State,  to  whom  it  is  very  interesting 
that  the  office  be  properly  filled,  and  I  may  say,  on  behalf  of  the 
Continent  also,  to  whom  the  same  circumstance  is  interesting,  in 
proportion  to  its  reliance  upon  this  State  for  supplies  to  the  south- 
ern war.  We  should  not  have  given  Congress  the  trouble  of 
this  application,  had  we  found  it  easy  to  call  any  other  to  the 
office,  who  was  likely  to  answer  our  wishes  in  the  exercise  of  it. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


302  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO  HIS  EXCELLENCY  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  CONGRESS. 

RICHMOND,  March  28,  1781. 

SIR, — I  forward  to  your  Excellency,  under  cover  with  this, 
copies  of  letters  received  from  Major  General  Greene  and  Baron 
Steuben,  which  will  give  you  the  latest  account  of  the  situation 
of  things  with  us  and  in  North  Carolina. 

I  observe  a  late  resolve  of  Congress,  for  furnishing  a  number 
of  arms  to  the  southern  States  ;  and  I  lately  wrote  you  on  the 
subject  of  ammunition  and  cartridge  paper.  How  much  of  this 
State,  the  enemy  thus  reinforced,  may  think  proper  to  possess 
themselves  of,  must  depend  on  their  own  moderation  and  caution, 
till  these  supplies  arrive.  We  had  hoped  to  receive  by  the 
French  squadron  under  Monsieur  Destouchcs,  eleven  hundred 
stand  of  arms,  which  we  had  at  Rhode  Island,  but  were  disap- 
pointed. The  necessity  of  hurrying  forward  the  troops  intended 
for  the  southern  operations,  will  be  doubtless  apparent  from  this 
letter. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect,  your  Excel- 
lency's most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO  HIS  EXCELLENCY  THE  PRESIDENT  OP  CONGRESS. 

RICHMOND,  March  31,  1781. 

SIR, — The  letters  and  papers  accompanying  this  will  inform 
your  Excellency  of  the  arrival  of  a  British  flag  vessel  with 
clothing,  refreshments,  money,  &c.,  for  their  prisoners,  under  the 
Convention  of  Saratoga.  The  gentlemen  conducting  them, 
have,  on  supposition  •  that  the  prisoners,  or  a  part  of  them,  still 
remained  in  this  State,  applied  to  me  by  letters,  copies  of  which 
I  transmit  your  Excellency,  for  leave  to  allow  water  transporta- 
tion as  far  as  possible,  and  then,  for  themselves  to  attend  them  to 
the  post  where  they  are  to  be  issued,  These  indulgences  were 
usually  granted  them  here,  but  the  prisoners  being  removed,  it 


CORRESPONDENCE.  303 

becomes  necessary  to  transmit  the  application  to  Congress  for 
their  direction.  In  the  meantime,  the  flag  will  wait  in  James 
river. 

Our  intelligence  from  General  Greene's  camp  as  late  as  the 
24th,  is,  that  Lord  Cornwallis's  march  of  the  day  before  had  de- 
cided his  route  to  Cross  creek. 

The  amount  of  the  reinforcements  to  the  enemy,  arrived  at 
Portsmouth,  is  not  yet  known  with  certainty.  Accounts  diifer 
from  fifteen  hundred  to  much  larger  numbers.  We  are  informed 
they  have  a  considerable  number  of  horse.  The  affliction  of  the 
people  for  want  of  arms  is  great ;  that  of  ammunition  is  not  yet 
known  to  them.  An  apprehension  is  added,  that  the  enterprise 
on  Portsmouth  being  laid  aside,  the  troops  under  the  Marquis 
Fayette  will  not  come  on.  An  enemy  three  thousand  strong, 
riot  a  regular  in  the  State,  nor  arms  to  put  in  the  hands  of  the 
militia,  are,  indeed,  discouraging  circumstances. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO  HIS  EXCELLENCY  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  CONGRESS. 

RICHMOND,  April  7,  1781. 

SIR, — Hearing  that  our  arms  from  Rhode  Island  have  arrived 
at  Philadelphia,  I  have  begged  the  favor  of  our  Delegates  to ' 
send  them  on  in  wagons  immediately,  and,  for  the  conveyance 
of  my  letter,  have  taken  the  liberty  of  setting  the  Continental 
line  of  expresses  in  motion,  which  I  hope  our  distress  for  arms 
will  justify,  though  the  errand  be  not  purely  Continental. 

I  have  nothing  from  General  Greene  later  than  the  27th  of 
March  ;  our  accounts  from  Portsmouth  vary  the  reinforcements, 
which  came  under  General  Phillips,  from  twenty-five  hundred 
to  three  thousand.  Arnold's  strength  before,  was,  I  think,  re- 
duced to  eleven  hundred.  They  have  made  no  movement  as 
yet.  Their  preparation  of  boats  is  considerable  ;  whether  they 


304:  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

mean  to  go  southwardly  or  up  the  river,  no  leading  circumstance 
has  yet  decided. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  Excel- 
lency's most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO  HIS  EXCELLENCY  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  CONGRESS. 

la  Council,  April  18,  1781. 

SIR, — I  was  honored,  yesterday  with  your  Excellency's  favor 
enclosing  the  resolutions  of  Congress  of  the  8th  instant,  for  re- 
moving stores  and  provisions  from  the  counties  of  Accomack 
and  Northampton.  We  have,  there  no  military  stores,  except  a 
few  muskets  in  the  hands  of  the  militia.  There  are  some  col- 
lections of  forage  and  provisions  belonging  to  the  Continent, 
and  some  to  the  State,  and  the  country  there,  generally,  fur- 
nishes an  abundance  of  forage.  But  such  is  the  present  con- 
dition of  Chesapeake  Bay  that  we  cannot  even  get  an  advice 
boat  across  it  with  any  certainty,  much  less  adventure  on  trans- 
portation. Should,  however,  any  interval  happen,  in  which 
these  articles  may  be  withdrawn,  we  shall  certainly  avail  our- 
selves of  it,  and  bring  thence  whatever  we  can. 

If  I  have  been  rightly  informed,  the  horses  there  are  by  no 
means  such,  as  that  the  enemy  could  apply  them  to  the  purposes 
of  cavalry.  Some  large  enough  for  the  draught  may,  perhaps, 
be  found,  but  of  these  not  many. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect,  your  Excel- 
lency's most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  April  23,  1781. 

SIR, — On  the  18th  instant,  the  enemy  came  from  Portsmouth 
up  James  river,  in  considerable  force,  though  their  numbers  are 


CORRESPONDENCE.  305 

not  yet  precisely  known  to  us.  They  landed  at  Burwell's  ferry, 
below  Williamsburg,  and  also  a  short  distance  above  the  mouth 
of  Chickahomony.  This  latter  circumstance  obliged  Colonel 
Innis,  who  commanded  a  body  of  militia,  stationed  on  that  side 
the  river  to  cover  the  country  from  depredation,  to  retire  up- 
wards, lest  he  should  be  placed  between  their  two  bodies.  One 
of  these  entered  Williamsburg  on  the  20th,  and  the  other  pro- 
ceeded to  a  ship-yard  we  had  on  Chickahomony.  What  injury 
they  did  there,  I  am  not  yet  informed.  I  take  for  granted,  they 
have  burned  an  unfinished  twenty-gun  ship  we  had  there. 
Such  of  the  stores, belonging  to  the  yard  as  were  movable,  had 
been  carried  some  miles  higher  up  the  river.  Two  small  gallies 
also  retired  up  the  river.  Whether  by  this,  either  the  stores  or 
gallies  were  saved,  is  yet  unknown.  I  am  just  informed,  from  a 
private  hand,  that  they  left  Williamsburg  early  yesterday  morn- 
ing. If  this  sudden  departure  was  not  in  consequence  of  some 
circumstance  of  alarm  unknown  to  us,  their  expedition  to  Wil- 
liamsburg has  been  unaccountable.  There  were  no  public  stores 
at  that  place,  but  those  which  were  necessary  for  the  daily  sub- 
sistence of  the  men  there.  Where  they  mean  to  descend  next, 
the  event  alone  can  determine.  Besides  harassing  our  militia 
with  this  kind  of  war,  the  taking  them  from  their  farms  at  the 
interesting  season  of  planting  their  corn,  will  have  an  unfor- 
tunate effect  on  the  crop  of  the  ensuing  year. 

I  have  heard  nothing  certain  of  General  Greene  since  the  6th 
instant,  except  that  his  head-quarters  were  on  Little  river  on 
the  llth. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect  and  esteem, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

RICHMOND,  May  9,  1781. 

Sm, — Since  the  last  letter  which  I  had  the  honor  of  address- 
ing to  your  Excellency,  the  military  movements  in  this  State, 
VOL.  i.  20 


306  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

except   a  very  late   one,   have   scarcely  merited   communica- 
tion. 

The  enemy,  after  leaving  Williamsburg,  came  directly  up 
James  river  and  landed  at  City  Point,  being  the  point  of  land 
on  the  southern  point  of  the  confluence  of  Appamattox  and 
James  rivers.  They  marched  up  to  Petersburg,  where  they 
were  received  by  Baron  Steuben,  with  a  body  of  militia  some- 
what under  one  thousand,  who,  though  the  enemy  were  two 
thousand  and  three  hundred  strong,  disputed  the  ground  very 
handsomely  two  hours,  during  which  time  the  enemy  gained 
only  one  mile,  and  that  by  inches.  Our  troops  were  then  or- 
dered to  retire  over  a  bridge,  which  they  did  in  perfectly  good 
order.  Our  loss  was  between  sixty  and  seventy,  killed,  wound- 
ed, and  taken.  The  enemy's  is  unknown,  but  it  must  be  equal 
to  ours  ;  for  their  own  honor  they  must  confess  this,  as  they 
broke  twice  and  run  like  sheep,  till  supported  by  fresh  troops. 
An  inferiority  in  number  obliged  our  force  to  withdraw  about 
twelve  miles  upwards,  till  more  militia  should  be  assembled. 
The  enemy  burned  all  the  tobacco  in  the  warehouses  at  Peters- 
burg and  its  neighborhood.  They  afterwards  proceeded  to  Os- 
borne's,  where  they  did  the  same,  and  also  destroyed  the  residue 
of  the  public  armed  vessels,  and  several  of  private  property,  and 
then  came  to  Manchester,  which  is  on  the  hill  opposite  this  place. 

By  this  time,  Major  General  Marquis  Fayette  having  been 
advised  of  our  danger,  had,  by  forced  marches,  got  here  with  his 
detachment  of  Continental  troops  ;  and  reinforcements  of  militia 
having  also  come  in,  the  enemy,  finding  we  were  able  to  meet 
them  on  equal  footing,  thought  proper  to  burn  the  warehouses 
and  tobacco  at  Manchester,  and  retire  to  Warwick,  where  they 
did  the  same.  Ill  armed  and  untried  militia,  who  never  before 
saw  the  face  of  an  enemy,  have,  at  times,  during  the  course  of 
this  war,  given  occasions  of  exultation  to  our  enemies,  but  they 
afforded  us,  while  at  Warwick,  a  little  satisfaction  in  the  same 
way.  Six  or  eight  hundred  of  their  picked  men  of  light  in- 
fantry, with  General  Arnold  at  their  head,  having  crossed  the 
river  from  Warwick,  fled  from  a  patrole  of  sixteen  horse,  every 


CORRESPONDENCE.  307 

man  into  his  boat  as  he  could,  some  pushing  North,  some  South, 
as  their  fears  drove  them.  Their  whol«  force  then  proceeded 
to  the  Hundred,  being  the  point  of  land  within  the  confluence 
of  the  two  rivers,  embarked,  and  fell  down  the  river.  Their 
foremost  vessels  had  got  below  Burwell's  ferry  on  the  6th  in- 
stant, when,  on  the  arrival  of  a  boat  from  Portsmouth,  and  a 
signal  given,  the  whole  crowded  sail  up  the  river  again  with  a 
fair  wind  and  tide,  and  came  to  anchor  at  Brandon  ;  there  six 
days'  provision  was  dealt  out  to  every  man  ;  they  landed,  and 
had  orders  to  march  an  hour  before  day  the  next  morning.  We 
have  not  yet  heard  which  way  they  went,  or  whether  they  have 
gone,  but  having,  about  the  same  time,  received  authentic  infor- 
mation that  Lord  Cornwallis  had,  on  the  1st  instant,  advanced 
from  Wilmington  half  way  to  Halifax,  we  have  no  doubt,  put- 
ting all  circumstances  together,  that  these  two  armies  are  form- 
ing a  junction. 

We  are  strengthening  our  hands  with  militia,  as  far  as  arms, 
either  public  or  private,  can  be  collected,  but  cannot  arm  a  force 
which  may  face  the  combined  armies  of  the  enemy.  It  will, 
therefore,  be  of  very  great  importance  that  General  Wayne's 
forces  be  pressed  on  with  the  utmost  despatch.  Arms  and  a  naval 
foroe,  however,  are  what  must  ultimately  save  us.  This  movement 
of  our  enemies  we  consider  as  most  perilous  in  its  consequences. 

Our  latest  advices  from  General  Greene  were  of  the  26th  ult., 
when  he  was  lying  before  Camden,  the  works  and  garrison  of 
which  were  much  stronger  than  he  had  expected  to  find  them. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    THE    VIRGINIA   DELEGATES    IN    CONGRESS. 

IN  COUNCIL,  May  10,  1781. 

GENTLEMEN, — A   small   affair   has   taken   place  between  the 
British  commanding  officer  in  this  State,  General  Phillips,  and 


308  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

the  Executive,  of  which,  as  he  may  endeavor  to  get  rid  of  it 
through  the  medium  of  Congress,  I  think  it  necessary  previously 
to  apprise  you. 

General  Scott  obtained  permission  from  the  Commandant  at 
Charleston,  for  vessels  with  necessary  supplies  to  go  from  hence 
to  them,  but  instead  of  sending  the  original,  sent  only  a  copy  of 
the  permission  taken  by  his  brigade  major.  I  applied  to  Gen- 
eral Phillips  to  supply  this  omission  by  furnishing  a  passport  for 
the  vessel.  Having  just  before  taken  great  offence  at  a  threat 
of  retaliation  in  the  treatment  of  prisoners,  he  enclosed  his  an- 
swer to  my  letter  under  this  address,  "  To  Thomas  Jefferson, 
Esq.,  American  Governor  of  Virginia."  I  paused  on  receiving 
the  letter,  and  for  some  time  would  not  open  it ;  however,  when 
the  miserable  condition  of  our  brethren  in  Charleston  occurred 
to  me,  I  could  not  determine  that  they  should  be  left  without 
the  necessaries  of  life,  while  a  punctilio  should  be  discussing  be- 
tween the  British  General  and  myself ;  and,  knowing  that  I  had 
an  opportunity  of  returning  the  compliment  to  Mr.  Phillips  in  a 
case  perfectly  corresponding,  I  opened  the  letter. 

Very  shortly  after,  I  received,  as  I  expected,  the  permission  of 
the  board  of  war,  for  the  British  flag  vessel  then  in  Hampton 
Roads  with  clothing  and  refreshments,  to  proceed  to  Alexandria 
I  enclosed  and  addressed  it,  "  To  William  Phillips,  Esq.,  com- 
manding the  British  forces  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia." 
Personally  knowing  Phillips  to  be  the  proudest  man  of  the  proud- 
est nation  on  earth,  I  well  know  he  will  not  open  this  letter  ;  but 
having  occasion,  at  the  same  time,  to  write  to  Captain  Gerlach, 
the  flag-master,  I  informed  him  that  the  Convention  troops  in  this 
State  should  perish  for  want  of  necessaries,  before  any  should  be 
carried  to  them  through  this  State,  till  General  Phillips  either 
swallowed  this  pill  of  retaliation,  or  made  an  apology  for  his 
rudeness.  And  in  this,  should  the  matter  come  ultimately  to 
Congress,  we  hope  for  their  support. 

He  has  the  less  right  to  insist  on  the  expedition  of  his  flag,  be- 
cause his  letter,  instead  of  enclosing  a  passport  to  expedite  ours, 
contained  only  an  evasion  of  the  application,  by  saying  he  had 


CORRESPONDENCE.  309 

referred  it  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  in  the  meantime,  he  has 
come  up  the  river,  and  taken  the  vessel  with  her  loading,  which 
we  had  chartered  and  prepared  to  send  to  Charleston,  and  which 
wanted  nothing  but  the  passport  to  enable  her  to  depart. 

I  would  further  observe  to  you,  that  this  gentleman's  letters  to 
the  Baron  Steuben  first,  and  afterwards  to  the  Marquis  Fayette, 
have  been  in  a  style  so  intolerably  insolent  and  haughty,  that 
both  these  gentlemen  have  been  obliged  to  inform  him,  that 
if  he  thinks  proper  to  address  them  again  in  the  same  spirit,  all 
intercourse  shall  be  discontinued. 

I  am,  with  great  respect  and  esteem,  Gentlemen, 

Your  most  obedient  servant. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

CHARLOTTESVILLK,  May  28,1781. 

SIR, — I  make  no  doubt  you  will  have  heard,  before  this  shall 
nave  the  honor  of  being  presented  to  your  Excellency,  of  the 
junction  of  Lord  Cornwallis  with  the  force  at  Petersburg  under 
Arnold,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  command  on  the  death  of 
Major-general  Phillips.  I  am  now  advised  that  they  have  evacu- 
ated Petersburg,  joined  at  Westover  a  reinforcement  of  two 
thousand  men  just  arrived  from  New  York,  crossed  James  river, 
and  on  the  26th  instant,  were  three  miles  advanced  on  their  way 
towards  Richmond ;  at  which  place,  Major-General  the  Marquis 
Fayette  lay  with  three  thousand  men,  regulars  and  militia :  these 
being  the  whole  number  we  could  arm,  until  the  arrival  of  the 
eleven  hundred  arms  from  Rhode  Island,  which  are,  about  this 
time,  at  the  place  where  our  public  stores  are  deposited.  The 
whole  force  of  the  enemy  within  this  State,  from  the  best  intel- 
ligence I  have  been  able  to  get,  is,  I  think,  about  seven  thousand 
men,  infantry  and  cavalry,  including,  also,  the  small  garrison  left 
at  Portsmouth.  A  number  of  privateers,  which  are  constantly 
avaging  the  shores  of  our  rivers,  prevent  us  from  receiving  any 


310  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

aid  from  the  counties  lying  on  navigable  waters ;  and  powerful 
operations  meditated  against  our  western  frontier,  by  a  joint  force 
of  British  and  Indian  savages,  have,  as  your  Excellency  before 
knew,  obliged  us  to  embody  between  two  and  three  thousand 
men  in  that  quarter.  Your  Excellency  will  judge  from  this  state 
of  things,  and  from  what  you  know  of  our  country,  what  it  may 
probably  suffer  during  the  present  campaign.  Should  the  enemy 
be  able  to  produce  no  opportunity  of  annihilating  the  Marquis's 
army,  a  small  proportion  of  their  force  may  yet  restrain  his 
movements  effectually  while  the  greater  part  are  employed,  in 
detachment,  to  waste  an  unarmed  country,  and  lead  the  minds 
of  the  people  to  acquiesce  under  those  events  which  they  see  no 
human  power  prepared  to  ward  off.  We  are  too  far  removed 
from  the  other  scenes  of  war  to  say,  whether  the  main  force  of 
the  enemy  be  within  this  State.  But  I  suppose  they  cannot 
anywhere  spare  so  great  an  army  for  the  operations  of  the  field. 
Were  it  possible  for  this  circumstance  to  justify  in  your  Excel- 
lency a  determination  to  lend  us  your  personal  aid,  it  is  evident, 
from  the  universal  voice,  that  the  presence  of  their  beloved 
countryman,  whose  talents  have  so  long  been  successfully  em- 
ployed in  establishing  the  freedom  of  kindred  States,  to  whose 
person  they  have  still  nattered  themselves  they  retained  some 
right,  and  have  ever  looked  up,  as  their  dernier  resort  in  distress, 
would  restore  full  confidence  of  salvation  to  our  citizens,  and 
would  render  them  equal  to  whatever  is  not  impossible.  I  can- 
not undertake  to  foresee  and  obviate  the  difficulties  which  lie  in 
the  way  of  such  a  resolution.  The  whole  subject  is  before  you, 
of  which  I  see  only  detatched  parts ;  and  your  judgment  will 
be  formed  on  a  view  of  the  whole.  Should  the  danger  of  this 
State  and  its  consequence  to  the  Union,  be  such,  as  to  render  it 
best  for  the  whole  that  you  should  repair  to  its  assistance,  the 
difficulty  would  then  be,  how  to  keep  men  out  of  the  field.  I 
have  undertaken  to  hint  this  matter  to  your  Excellency,  not  only 
on  my  own  sense  of  its  importance  to  us,  but  at  the  solicitations 
of  many  members  of  weight  in  our  legislature,  which  has  not 
yet  assembled  to  speak  their  own  desires. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  311 

A  few  days  will  bring  to  me  that  relief  which  the  constitution 
has  prepared  for  those  oppressed  with  the  labors  of  my  office, 
and  a  long  declared  resolution  of  relinquishing  it  to  abler  hand^, 
has  prepared  my  way  for  retirement  to  a  private  station  :  still,  as 
an  individual,  I  should  feel  the  comfortable  effects  of  your 
presence,  and  have  (what  I  thought  could  not  have  been)  an  ad- 
ditional motive  for  that  gratitude,  esteem,  and  respect,  with 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient 
humble  servant. 


TO  THE  MARQUIS    LA  FATETTE. 

MONTICELLO,  August  4,  1781. 

SIR, — I  am  much  obliged  by  the  trouble  you  took  in  forward- 
ing to  me  the  letter  of  his  Excellency,  the  President  of  Congress. 
It  found  me  in  Bedford,  an  hundred  miles  southward  of  this, 
where  I  was  confined  till  within  these  few  days,  by  an  unfortu- 
nate fall  from  my  horse.  This  has  occasioned  the  delay  of  the 
answer  which  I  now  take  the  liberty  of  enclosing  to  you,  as 
the  confidential  channel  of  conveyance,  pointed  out  by  the 
President. 

I  thank  you  also  for  your  kind  sentiments  and  friendly  offer 
on  the  occasion,  which,  that  I  cannot  avail  myself  of,  has  given 
me  more  mortification  than  almost  any  occurrence  of  my  life. 
I  lose  an  opportunity,  the  only  one  I  ever  had,  and  perhaps  ever 
shall  have,  of  combining  public  service  with  private  gratifica- 
tion. Of  seeing  countries  whose  improvements  in  science,  in 
arts,  and  in  civilization,  it  has  been  my  fortune  to  admire  at  a 
distance,  but  never  to  see,  and  at  the  same  time  of  lending  some 
aid  to  a  cause,  which  has  been  handed  on  from  its  first  organiza- 
tion to  its  present  stage,  by  every  effort  of  which  my  poor  facul- 
ties were  capable.  These,  however,  have  not  been  such  as  to 
give  satisfaction  to  some  of  my  countrymen,  and  it  has  become 
necessary  for  me  to  remain  in  the  State  till  a  later  period  in  the 
present  year,  than  is  consistent  with  an  acceptance  of  what  has 


312  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

been  offered  me.*  Declining  higher  objects,  therefore,  my  only 
one  must  be  to  show  that  suggestion  and  fact  are  different  things, 
and  that  public  misfortune  may  be  produced  as  well  by  public 
poverty  and  private  disobedience  to  the  laws,  as  by  the  misconduct 
of  public  servants.t  The  independence  of  private  life  under  the 
protection  of  republican  laws  will,  I  hope,  yield  me  the  happi- 
ness from  which  no  slave  is  so  remote  as  the  minister  of  a  com- 
monwealth. From  motives  of  private  esteem  as  well  as  public 
gratitude,  I  shall  pray  it  to  be  your  lot  in  every  line  of  life,  as  no 
one  can  with  more  truth  subscribe  himself  with  the  highest 
regard  and  respect,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble 
servant. 


TO   EDMUND   RANDOLPH,    ESQ.. 

MONTICELI.O,  September  16,  1781. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  7th  instant. 
That,  mentioned  to  have  been  sent  by  the  preceding  post,  has 
not  come  to  hand,  nor  two  others,  which  Mrs.  Randolph  informs 
me  you  wrote  before  you  left  Virginia,  nor  indeed  any  others, 

[*  On  the  15th  of  June,  1781,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  appointed,  with  Mr.  Adams,  Dr. 
Franklin,  Mr.  Jay,  and  Mr.  Lauren?,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  for  negotiating;  peace, 
then  expected  to  be  effected  through  the  mediation  of  the  Empress  of  Russia — ED.] 

[f  In  1781,  the  depredations  of  the  enemy,  and  the  public  and  private  losses  which 
they  oecasioned,  produced  the  ordinary  effect  of  complaint  against  those  who  had 
charge  of  the  public  defence,  and  especially  against  Mr  Jefferson  (the  Governor  of 
Virginia).  A  popular  clamor  was  excited  against  him,  and,  under  the  impulses  of 
the  moment,  Mr.  George  Nicholas,  a  member  from  Albermarle,  moved  his  impeach- 
ment. 

The  charges  were,  1.  That  he  had  not,  as  soon  as  advised  by  General  Washington 
of  the  meditated  invasion,  put  the  country  in  a  state  of  preparation  and  defence  ;  2. 
That  during  the  invasion,  he  did  not  use  the  means  of  resistance  which  were  at  his 
command;  3.  That  he  too  much  consulted  his  personal  safety,  when  Arnold  first  en- 
tered Richmond,  by  which  others  were  dispirited  and  discouraged ;  4.  That  he  iguo- 
rniniously  fled  from  Monticello  to  the  neighboring  mountain  on  Tarleton's  approach  to 
Charlottesville ;  and  5.  That  he  abandoned  the  office  of  Governor  as  soon  as  it  became 
one  of  difficulty  and  danger. 

Mr.  Jefferson  has  been  long  since  acquitted  of  these  charges  by  the  almost  unani- 
mous voice  of  his  countrymen. — ED.] 


CORRESPONDENCE.  313 

should  you  have  been  so  kind  as  to  have  written  any  others. 
When  I  received  the  first  letter  from  the  President  of  Congress, 
enclosing  their  resolution,  and  mentioning  the  necessity  of  an  ex- 
peditious departure,  my  determination  to  attend  at  the  next  session 
of  the  Assembly  offered  a  ready  and  insuperable  obstacle  to  my 
accepting  of  that  appointment,  and  left  me  under  no  necessity 
of  deliberating  with  myself  whether,  that  objection  being  removed, 
any  other  considerations  might  prevent  my  undertaking  it.  I 
find  there  are  many,  and  must,  therefore,  decline  it  altogether. 
Were  it  possible  for  me  to  determine  again  to  enter  into  public 
business,  there  is  no  appointment  whatever  which  would  have 
been  so  agreeable  to  me.  But  I  have  taken  my  final  leave  of 
everything  of  that  nature.  I  have  retired  to  my  farm,  my  family 
and  books,  from  which  I  think  nothing  will  evermore  separate 
me.  A  desire  to  leave  public  office,  with  a  reputation  not  more 
blotted  than  it  has  deserved,  will  oblige  me  to  emerge  at  the  next 
session  of  our  Assembly,  and  perhaps  to  accept  of  a  seat  in  it. 
But  as  I  go  with  a  single  object,  I  shall  withdraw  when  that  shall 
be  accomplished.  I  should  have  thought  that  North  Carolina, 
rescued  from  the  hands  of  Britain,  Georgia  and  almost  the  whole 
of  South  Carolina  recovered,  would  have  been  sufficiently  humili- 
ating to  induce  them  to  treat  with  us.  If  this  will  ijot  do,  I  hope 
the  stroke  is  now  hanging  over  them  which  will  satisfy  them 
that  their  views  of  Southern  conquests  are  likely  to  be  as  visionary 
as  those  of  Northern.  I  think  it  impossible  Lord  Cornwallis 
should  escape.  Mrs.  Randolph  will  be  able  to  give  you  all  the 
news  on  this  subject,  as  soon  as  you  shall  be  able  to  release  her 
from  others.  I  am,  with  much  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and 
servant. 


TO    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 


MONTICELLO,  October  28th,  1781. 

SIR, — I  hope  it  will  not  be  unacceptable  to  your  Excellency 
»o  receive  the  congratulations  of  a  private  individual  on  your  re- 


314:  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

turn  to  your  native  country,  and,  above  all  things,  on  the  import- 
ant success  which  has  attended  it.*  Great  as  this  has  been, 
however,  it  can  scarcely  add  to  the  affection  with  which  we  have 
looked  up  to  you.  And  if,  in  the  minds  of  any,  the  motives  of 
prratitude  to  our  good  allies  were  not  sufficiently  apparent,  the 
part  they  have  borne  in  this  action  must  amply  evince  them. 
Notwithstanding  the  state  of  perpetual  decrepitude  to  which  I 
am  unfortunately  reduced,  I  should  certainly  have  done  myself 
the  honor  of  paying  my  respects  to  you  personally  ;  but  I  appre- 
hend these  visits,  which  are  meant  by  us  as  marks  of  our  attach- 
ment to  you,  must  interfere  with  the  regulations  of  a  camp,  and 
be  particularly  inconvenient  to  one  whose  time  is  too  precious  to 
be  wasted  in  ceremony. 

I  beg  you  to  believe  me  among  the  sincerest  of  those  who 
subscribe  themselves,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most 
humble  servant. 


TO    GENERAL    GATES 

RICHMOND,  December  ]4th,  1781. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  received  your  friendly  letters  of  August 
2d  and  November  15th,  and  some  of  the  gentlemen  to  whom 
you  wished  them  to  be  communicated  not  being  here,  I  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  handing  them  to  some  others,  so  as  to  an- 
swer the  spirit  of  your  wish.  It  seems  likely  to  end,  as  I  ever 
expected  it  would,  in  a  final  acknowledgment  that  good  disposi- 
tions and  arrangements  will  not  do  without  a  certain  degree  of 
bravery  and  discipline  in  those  who  are  to  carry  them  into  exe- 
cution. This,  the  men  whom  you  commanded,  or  the  greater 
part  of  them  at  least,  unfortunately  wanted  on  that  particular 
occasion. 

I  have  not  a  doubt  but  that,  on  a  fair  enquiry,  the  returning 
justice  of  your  countrymen  will  remind  them  of  Saratoga,  and 
induce  them  to  recognize  your  merits.  My  future  plan  of  life 

[*  The  battle  of  Yorktown.] 


COEKESPONDENCE.  315 

scarcely  admits  a  hope  of  my  having  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you 
at  your  seat ;  yet  I  assuredly  shall  do  it  should  it  ever  lie  within 
my  power,  and  am  assured  that  Mrs.  Jefferson  will  join  me  in 
sincere  thanks  for  your  kind  sentiments  and  invitation,  and  in 
expressions  of  equal  esteem  for  Mrs.  Gates  and  yourself,  and  in  a 
certain  hope  that,  should  any  circumstance  lead  you  within  our 
reach,  you  will  make  us  happy  by  your  company  at  Monticello. 
We  have  no  news  to  communicate.  That  the  Assembly  does 
little,  does  not  come  under  that  description. 

I  am,  with  very  sincere  esteem,  dear  sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    JAMES    MADISON. 

MONTICELLO,  March  24th,  1782. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  received  from  you  two  several  favors,  on 
the  subject  of  the  designs  against  the  territorial  rights  of  Vir- 
ginia.* 1  never  before  could  comprehend  on  what  principle  our 
rights  to  the  western  country  could  be  denied,  which  would  not, 
at  the  same  time,  subvert  the  right  of  all  the  States  to  the  whole 
of  their  territory.  What  objections  may  be  founded  on  the  char- 
ter of  New  York,  I  cannot  say,  having  never  seen  that  charter, 
nor  been  able  to  get  a  copy  of  it  in  this  country.  I  had  thought 
to  have  seized  the  first  leisure  on  my  return  from  the  last  Assem- 
bly, to  have  considered  and  stated  our  rights,  and  to  have  com- 
municated to  our  delegates,  or  perhaps  to  the  public,  so  much  as 
I  could  trace,  and  expected  to  have  derived  some  assistance  from 
ancient  MSS.,  which  I  have  been  able  to  collect.  These,  with 
my  other  papers  and  books,  however,  had  been  removed  to  Au- 

[*  The  title  of  Virginia  to  the  Northwestern  territory  was  controverted,  as  early 
as  1779,  by  some  of  the  other  States,  upon  the  ground  that  all  lands,  the  title  of 
which  had  originally  been  in  the  crown  and  had  never  been  alienated,  were  the  com- 
mon property  of  the  Confederation,  by  right  of  conquest — the  revolution  having 
transferred  the  title  from  the  British  sovereign  to  the  Confederation.  This  view  was 
resisted  by  Virginia  in  an  able  remonstrance  to  Congress  in  October,  1779.  The 
question,  however,  never  came  to  an  issue ;  for  Virginia,  moved  by  a  patriotic  im- 
pulse, and  ready  to  sacrifice  her  individual  interest  to  the  general  good,  made  a  vol- 
untary cession  of  the  whole  territory  to  the  Confederation.] 


316  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

gusta  to  be  out  of  danger  from  the  enemy,  and  have  not  yet  been 
brought  back.  The  ground  on  which  I  now  find  the  question 
to  be  bottomed  is  so  unknown  to  me  that  it  is  out  of  my  power 
to  say  anything  on  the  subject.  Should  it  be  practicable  for  me 
to  procure  a  copy  of  the  charter  of  New  York,  I  shall  probably 
think  on  it,  and  would  cheerfully  communicate  to  you  whatever 
could  occur  to  me  worth  your  notice.  But  this  will  probably  be 
much  too  late  to  be  of  any  service  before  Congress,  who  doubt- 
less will  decide,  ere  long,  on  the  subject.  I  sincerely  wish  their 
decision  may  tend  to  the  preservation  of  peace.  If  I  am  not 
totally  deceived  in  the  determination  of  this  country,  the  decision 
of  Congress,  if  unfavorable,  will  not  close  the  question.  I  sup- 
pose some  people  on  the  western  waters,  who  are  ambitious  to  be 
Governors,  &c.,  will  urge  a  separation  by  authority  of  Congress. 
But  the  bulk  of  the  people  westward  are  already  thrown  into 
great  ferment  by  the  report  of  what  is  proposed,  to  which  I  think 
they  will  not  submit.  This  separation  is  unacceptable  to  us  in 
form  only,  and  not  in  substance.  On  the  contrary,  I  may  safely 
say  it  is  desired  by  the  eastern  part  of  our  country  whenever 
their  western  brethren  shall  think  themselves  able  to  stand  alone. 
In  the  meantime,  on  the  petition  of  the  western  counties,  a  plan 
is  digesting  for  rendering  their  access  to  government  more  easy. 
I  trouble  you  with  the  enclosed  to  Mons.  Marbois.  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  hearing  that  your  father  and  family  were  all  well 
yesterday,  by  your  brother,  who  is  about  to  study  the  law  in  my 
neighborhood.  I  shall  always  be  glad  to  hear  from  you,  and,  if  it 
be  possible  for  me,  retired  from  public  business,  to  find  anything 
worth  your  notice,  I  shall  communicate  it  with  great  pleasure. 
I  am  with  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


JAMES    MONROE  TO    THOMAS    JEFFERSON. 

RICHMOND,  llth  of  May,  1782. 

DEAR  SIR, — As  I  so  lately  wrote  you  by  Mr.  Short,  and  have 
since  daily  expected  to  see  you  here,  I  did  not  propose  writing 


CORRESPONDENCE.  317 

to  you  till  after  I  should  have  that  pleasure ;  but  as  I  begin  to 
fear  you  will  not  abate  that  firmness  and  decision  which  you 
have  frequently  shown  in  the  service  of  your  country,  even  upon 
this  occasion,  and  as  I  have  had  an  opportunity  since  I  last 
wrote  of  being  better  informed  of  the  sentiments  of  those  whom 
I  know  you  put  the  greatest  value  on,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  make 
you  acquainted  therewith. '  It  is  publicly  said  here,  that  the  peo- 
ple of  your  country  informed  you  that  they  had  frequently  elected 
you  in  times  of  less  difficulty  and  danger  than  the  present  to 
please  you ;  but  that  now  they  had  called  you  forth  into  public 
office  to  serve  themselves.  This  is  a  language  which  has  been 
often  used  in  my  presence  ;  and  you  will  readily  conceive  that, 
as  it  furnishes  those  who  argue  on  the  fundamental  maxims  of 
a  Republican  government  with  ample  field  for  declamation,  the 
conclusion  has  always  been,  that  you  should  not  decline  the 
service  of  your  country.  The  present  is  generally  conceived  to 
be  an  important  era,  which,  of  course,  makes  your  attendance 
particularly  necessary.  And  as  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  give 
you  the  public  opinion  and  desire  upon  this  occasion,  and  as  I 
am  warmly  interested  in  whatever  concerns  the  public  interest 
or  has  relation  to  you,  it  will  be  necessary  to  add,  it  is  earnestly 
the  desire  of,  dear  Sir, 

Your  sincere  friend  and  obedient  servant. 


TO    COLONEL    JAMES    MONROE. 

MONTICELLO,  May  20th,  1782. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  been  gratified  with  your  two  favors  of  the 
6th  and  1 1th  inst.  It  gives  me  pleasure  that  your  county  has 
been  wise  enough  to  enlist  your  talent  into  their  service.  I  am 
much  obliged  by  the  kind  wishes  you  express  of  seeing  me  also 
in  Richmond,  and  am  always  mortified  when  anything  is  ex- 
pected from  me  which  I  cannot  fulfill,  and  more  especially  if  it 
relate  to  the  public  service.  Before  I  ventured  to  declare  to  my 


318  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

countrymen  my  determination  to  retire  from  public  employment; 
I  examined  well  my  heart  to  know  whether  it  were  thoroughly 
cured  of  every  principle  of  political  ambition,  whether  no  lurk- 
ing particle  remained  which  might  leave  me  uneasy,  when  re- 
duced within  the  limits  of  mere  private  life.  I  became  satisfied 
that  every  fibre  of  that  passion  was  thoroughly  eradicated.  I 
examined  also,  in  other  views,  my  right  to  withdraw.  I  consid- 
ered that  I  had  been  thirteen  years  engaged  in  public  service — 
that,  during  that  time,  I  had  so  totally  abandoned  all  attention  to 
my  private  aifairs  as  to  permit  them  to  run  into  great  disorder  and 
ruin — that  I  had  now  a  family  advanced  to  years  which  require 
my  attention  and  instruction — that,  to  these,  was  added  the 
hopeful  offspring  of  a  deceased  friend,  whose  memory  must  be 
forever  dear  to  me,  and  who  have  no  other  reliance  for  being  ren- 
dered useful  to  themselves  or  their  country — that  by  a  constant  sac- 
rifice of  time,  labor,  parental  and  friendly  duties,  I  had,  so  far 
from  gaining  the  affection  of  my  countrymen,  which  was  the 
only  reward  I  ever  asked  or  could  have  felt,  even  lost  the  small 
estimation  I  had  before  possessed. 

That,  however  I  might  have  comforted  myself  under  the  dis- 
.approbation  of  the  well-meaning  but  uninformed  people,  yet,  that 
of  their  representatives  was  a  shock  on  which  I  had  not  calcu- 
lated. That  this,  indeed,  had  been  followed  by  an  exculpatory 
declaration.  But,  in  the  meantime,  I  had  been  suspected  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world,  without  the  least  hint  then  or  afterwards 
being  made  public,  \vhich  might  restrain  them  from  supposing 
that  I  stood  arraigned  for  treason  of  the  heart,  and  not  merely 
Aveakness  of  the  mind  ;  and  I  felt  that  these  injuries,  for  such 
they  have  been  since  acknowledged,  had  inflicted  a  wound  on 
my  spirit  which  will  only  be  cured  by  the  all-healing  grave.  If 
reason  and  inclination  unite  in  justifying  my  retirement,  the  laws 
of  my  country  are  equally  in  favor  of  it.  Whether  the  State 
may  command  the  political  services  of  all  its  members  to  an  in- 
definite extent,  or,  if  these  be  among  the  rights  never  wholly 
ceded  to  the  public  power,  is  a  question  which  I  do  not  find  ex- 
pressly decided  in  England.  Obiter  dictums  on  the  subject  I  have 


CORRESPONDENCE.  319 

indeed  met  with,  but  the  complexion  of  the  times  in  which 
these  have  dropped  would  generally  answer  them.  Besides  that, 
this  species  of  authority  is  not  acknowledged  in  our  possession. 
In  this  country,  however,  since  the  present  government  has 
been  established,  the  point  has  been  settled  by  uniform,  pointed 
and  multiplied  precedents.  Offices  of  every  kind,  and  given  by 
every  power,  have  been  daily  and  hourly  declined  and  resigned 
from  the  Declaration  of  Independence  to  this  moment.  The 
General  Assembly  has  accepted  these  without  discrimination  of 
office,  and  without  ever  questioning  them  in  point  of  right.  If  the 
difference  between  the  office  of  a  delegate  and  any  other  could 
ever  have  been  supposed,  yet  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Thompson 
Mason,  who  declined  the  office  of  delegate,  and  was  permitted 
so  to  do  by  the  House,  that  supposition  has  been  proved  to  be 
groundless.  But,  indeed,  no  such  distinction  of  offices  can  be 
admitted.  Reason,  and  the  opinions  of  the  lawyers,  putting  all 
on  a  footing  as  to  this  question,  and  so  giving  to  the  delegate  the 
aid  of  all  the  precedents  of  the  refusal  of  other  offices.  The 
law  then  does  not  warrant  the  assumption  of  such  a  power  by 
the  State  over  its  members.  For  if  it  does,  where  is  that  law  ? 
nor  yet  does  reason.  For  though  I  will  admit  that  this  does, 
subject  every  individual,  if  called  on,  to  an  equal  tour  of  political 
duty,  yet  it  can  never  go  so  far  as  to  submit  to  it  his  whole  ex- 
istence. If  we  are  made  in  some  degree  for  others,  yet,  in  a 
greater,  are  we  made  for  ourselves.  It  were  contrary  to  feeling, 
and  indeed  ridiculous  to  suppose  that  a  man  had  less  rights  in 
himself  than  one  of  his  neighbors,  or  indeed  all  of  them  put  to- 
gether. This  would  be  slavery,  and  not  that  liberty  which  the 
bill  of  rights  has  made  inviolable,  and  for  the  preservation  of 
which  our  government  has  been  charged.  Nothing  could  so 
completely  divest  us  of  that  liberty  as  the  establishment  of  the 
opinion,  that  the  State  has  a  perpetual  right  to  the  services  of  all 
its  members.  This,  to  men  of  certain  ways  of  thinking,  would 
be  to  annihilate  the  blessings  of  existence,  and  to  contradict  the 
Giver  of  life,  who  gave  it  for  happiness  and  not  for  wretch- 
edness. And  certainly,  to  such  it  were  better  that  they  had 


?,20  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

never  been  born.  However,  with  these,  I  may  think  public 
service  and  private  misery  inseparably  linked  together,  I  have 
not  the  vanity  to  count  myself  among  those  whom  the  State 
would  think  worth  oppressing  with  perpetual  service.  I  have 
received  a  sufficient  memento  to  the  contrary.  I  am  persuaded 
that,  having  hitherto  dedicated  to  them  the  whole  of  the  active 
and  useful  part  of  my  life,  I  shall  be  permitted  to  pass  the  rest 
in  mental  quiet.  I  hope,  too,  that  I  did  not  mistake  modes  any 
more  than  the  matter  of  right  when  I  preferred  a  simple  act  of 
renunciation,  to  the  taking  sanctuary  under  those  disqualifica- 
tions (provided  by  the  law  for  other  purposes  indeed  but)  aiford- 
ing  asylum  also  for  rest  to  the  wearied.  I  dare  say  you  did  not 
expect  by  the  few  words  you  dropped  on  the  right  of  renunciation 
to  expose  yourself  to  the  fatigue  of  so  long  a  letter,  but  I  wished 
you  to  see  that,  if  I  had  done  wrong,  I  had  been  betrayed  by  a 
semblance  of  right  at  least.  I  take  the  liberty  of  enclosing  to 
you  a  letter  for  General  Chattellux,  for  which  you  will  readily 
find  means  of  conveyance.  But  I  mean  to  give  you  more  trou- 
ble with  the  one  to  Pelham,  who  lives  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Manchester,  and  to  ask  the  favor  of  you  to  send  it  by  your  serv- 
ant— express — which  I  am  in  hopes  may  be  done  without  ab- 
senting him  from  your  person,  but  during  those  hours  in  which 
you  will  be  engaged  in  the  house.  I  am  anxious  that  it  should 
be  received  immediately.  ******  It  will  give  me 
great  pleasure  to  see  you  here  whenever  you  can  favor  us  with 
your  company.  You  will  find  me  still  busy,  but  in  lighter  occu- 
pations. But  in  these  and  all  others  you  will  find  me  to  retain  a  due 
sense  of  your  friendship,  and  to  be,  with  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir, 
Your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    ROBERT    R.    LIVINGSTON. 


CHESTERFIELD,  November  26,  1782. 

SIR, — I  received  yesterday  the  letter  with  which  you  have 
been  pleased  to  honor  me,  enclosing  the  resolution  of  Congress 


CORRESPONDENCE.  321 

of  the  12th  instant,  renewing  my  appointment  as  one  of  their 
ministers  plenipotentiary  for  negotiating  a  peace  —  and  beg 
leave,  through  you,  to  return  my  sincere  thanks  to  that  august 
body,  for  the  confidence  they  are  pleased  to  repose  in  me,  and 
to  tender  the  same  to  yourself  for  the  obliging  manner  in 
which  you  have  notified  it.*  I  will  employ  in  this  ardu- 
ous charge,  with  diligence  and  integrity,  the  best  of  my  poor 
talents,  which  I  am  conscious  are  far  short  of  what  it  requires. 
This,  I  hope,  will  ensure  to  me  from  Congress  a  kind  construc- 
tion of  all  rny  transactions.  And  it  gives  me  no  small  pleasure, 
that  my  communications  will  pass  through  the  hands  of  a  gen- 
tleman with  whom  I  have  acted  in  the  earlier  stages  of  this 
contest,  and  whose  candor  and  discernment  I  had  the  good  for- 
tune then  to  approve  and  esteem.  Your  letter  finds  me  at  a  dis- 
tance from  home,  attending  my  family  under  inoculation.  This 
will  add  to  the  delay  which  the  arrangements  of  my  particular 
affairs  would  necessarily  occasion.  I  shall  lose  no  moment,  how- 
ever, in  preparing  for  my  departure,  and  shall  hope  to  pay  my 
respects  to  Congress  and  yourself  at  sometime  between  the  20th 
and  the  last  of  December. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  very  great  esteem  and  respect, 
dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    THE    CHEVALIER    DE    CHATTELLTJX. 

AMPHILL,  November  26,  1782. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  received  your  friendly  letters  of  —  and  June 

[*  Mr.  Jefferson's  reasons  for  now  accepting  this  appointment,  which  he  had  pre- 
viously declined,  are  thus  explained  by  himself: — "  I  had,  about  two  months  before, 
lost  the  cherished  companion  of  my  life  [his  wife],  in  whose  affection,  unabated  on 
both  sides,  I  had  lived  the  last  ten  years  in  unchequered  happiness."  On  the  19th 
of  December,  1782,  he  left  Monticello  for  Philadelphia,  where  he  intended  to  embark 
for  Europe  ;  but  the  French  Minister  Luzerne,  offering  him  a  passage  in  the  French 
frigate  Romulus,  then  lying  below  Baltimore,  he  accepted  the  offer.  The  sailing  of 
this  frigate  being  delayed  by  ice,  and  a  British  fleet  on  the  coast,  information,  in  the 
meantime,  reached  America  that  a  provisional  treaty  of  peace  had  been  signed  by  the 
American  Commissioners,  to  become  absolute  on  the  conclusion  of  peace  between 
France  and  England  On  the  arrival  of  this  information,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  released 
from  his  mission,  and  returned  to  his  home  in  Virginia  on  the  15th  May,  1783. — En.] 
VOL.  I.  21 


322  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS 

30th,  but  the  latter  not  till  the  17th  of  October.  It  found  me  a 
little  emerging  from  the  stupor  of  mind  which  had  rendered  me 
as  dead  to  the  world  as  was  she  whose  loss  occasioned  it.*  Your 
letter  recalled  to  my  memory  that  there  were  persons  still  living 
of  much  value  to  me.  If  you  should  have  thought  me  remiss 
in  not  testifying  to  you  sooner,  how  deeply  I  had  been  impressed 
with  your  worth  in  the  little  time  I  had  the  happiness  of  being 
with  you,  you  will,  I  am  sure,  ascribe  it  to  its  true  cause,  the 
state  of  dreadful  suspense  in  which  I  have  been  kept  all  the 
summer,  and  the  catastrophe  which  closed  it. 

Before  that  event,  my  scheme  of  life  had  been  determined.  I 
had  folded  myself  in  the  arms  of  retirement,  and  rested  all 
prospects  of  future  happiness  on  domestic  and  literary  objects. 
A  single  event  wiped  away  all  my  plans,  and  left  me  a  blank 
which  I  had  not  the  spirits  to  fill  up.  In  this  state  of  mind  an 
appointment  from  Congress  found  me,  requiring  me  to  cross  the 
Atlantic.  And  that  temptation  might  be  added  to  duty,  I  was 
informed, at  the  same  time,  from  his  Excellency  the  Chevalier  de 
Luzerne,  that  a  vessel  of  force  would  be  sailing  about  the  mid- 
dle of  December  in  which  you  would  be  passing  to  France.  I 
accepted  the  appointment,  and  my  only  object  now  is,  to  so  has- 
ten over  those  obstacles  which  would  retard  my  departure,  as  to 
be  ready  to  join  you  in  your  voyage — fondly  measuring  your 
affection  by  my  own,  and  presuming  your  consent.  It  is  not 
certain  that  I  can,  by  any  exertion,  be  in  Philadelphia  by  the 
middle  of  December — the  contrary  is  most  probable.  But  hop- 
ing it  will  not  be  much  later,  and  counting  on  those  procrastina- 
tions which  usually  attend  the  departure  of  vessels  of  size,  I 
have  hopes  of  being  with  you  in  time.  This  will  give  me  full 
leisure  to  learn  the  result  of  your  observations  on  the  natural 
bridge,  to  communicate  to  you  my  answers  to  the  enquiries  of 
Monsieur  de  Marbois,  to  receive  edification  from  you  on  these 
and  other  subjects  of  science  ;  considering  chess,  too,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  science.  Should  I  be  able  to  get  out  in  tolerable  time, 

[*  The  death  of  Mrs.  Jefferson.] 


CORRESPONDENCE.  323 

and  any  extraordinary  delays  attend  the  sailing  of  the  vessel,  I 
shall  certainly  do  myself  the  honor  of  waiting  on  his  Excellency 
the  Count  de  Rochambeau,  at  his  head-quarters,  and  assuring 
him  in  person  of  my  high  respect  and  esteem  for  him — an  object 
of  which  I  have  never  lost  sight.  To  yourself,  I  am  unable  to 
express  the  warmth  of  those  sentiments  of  friendship  and  at- 
tachment with  which  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  dear  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    MR.    STEPTOE. 

November  26,   1782. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  received  in  August  your  favor,  wherein  you 
give  me  hopes  of  being  able  to  procure  for  me  some  of  the  big 
bones.  I  should  be  unfaithful  to  my  own  feeling,  were  I  not  to 
express  to  you  how  much  I  am  obliged  by  your  attention  to  the 
requests  I  made  you  on  that  subject.  A  specimen  of  each  of 
the  several  species  of  bones  now  to  be  found,  is  to  me  the  most 
desirable  objects  in  natural  history.  And  there  is  no  expense  of 
package  or  of  safe  transportation  which  I  will  not  gladly  re- 
imburse, to  procure  them  safely.  Elk  horns  of  very  extraor- 
dinary size,  or  anything  else  uncommon,  would  be  very  accepta- 
ble. You  will  hear  of  my  going  to  Europe,  but  my  trip  there 
will  be  short.  I  mention  this,  lest  you  should  hesitate  forward- 
ing any  curiosities  to  me.  New  London  in  Bedford,  Staunton 
in  Augusta,  or  Frederick  County,  are  places  from  whence  I  can 
surely  get  them.  Any  observations  of  your  own  on  the  subject 
of  the  big  bones  or  their  history,  or  on  anything  else  in  the 
western  country,  will  come  acceptably  to  me,  because  I  know 
you  see  the  works  of  nature  in  the  great  and  not  merely  in  de- 
tail. Descriptions  of  animals,  vegetables,  minerals,  or  other  curi- 
ous things  ;  notes  as  to  the  Indians'  information  of  the  country 
between  the  Mississippi  and  waters  of  the  South  Sea,  &c.,  &c., 
will  strike  your  mind  as  worthy  being  communicated.  I  wish 
you  had  more  time  to  pay  attention  to  them.  I  perceive  by 
your  letter,  you  are  not  unapprized  that  your  services  to  your 


,  324  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

country  have  not  made  due  impression  on  every  mind.  That 
you  have  enemies,  you  must  not  doubt,  when  you  reflect  that 
you  have  made  yourself  eminent.  If  you  meant  to  escape 
malice,  you  should  have  confined  yourself  within  the  sleepy  line 
of  regular  duty.  When  you  transgressed  this,  and  enterprised 
deeds  which  will  hand  down  your  name  with  honor  to  future 
times,  you  made  yourself  a  mark  for  envy  and  malice  to  shoot 
at.  Of  these  there  is  enough,  you  know,  both  in  and  out  of 
office.  I  was  not  a  little  surprised,  however,  to  find  one  person 
hostile  to  you,  as  far  as  he  has  personal  courage  to  show  hostility 
to  any  man.  Who  he  is,  you  will  probably  have  heard,  or  may 
know  him  by  this  description — as  being  all  tongue  without  either 
head  or  heart.  In  the  variety  of  his  crooked  schemes,  however, 
his  interest  may  probably  veer  about,  so  as  to  put  it  in  your 
power  to  be  useful  to  him.  In  which  case,  he  certainly  will  be 
your  friend  again,  if  you  want  him.  That  you  may  long  con- 
tinue a  fit  object  for  his  enmity,  and  for  that  of  every  person  of 
his  complexion  in  the  State,  which  I  know  can  only  be  by  your 
continuing  to  do  good  to  your  country  and  to  acquire  honor  to 
yourself,  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  one  who  subscribes  himself, 
with  great  truth  and  sincerity,  dear  Sir, 

Your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    JAMES    MADISON. 

AMPHILL,  IN  CHESTERFIELD,  November  26th,  1782. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  by  Colonel  Basset  is  not  yet  come  to 
hand.  The  intimation  through  the  attorney,  I  received  the  day 
before  Colonel  Eland's  arrival,  by  whom  I  am  honored  with 
yours  of  the  14th  inst.  It  finds  me  at  this  place  attending  my 
family  under  inoculation.  This  will  of  course  retard  those  ar- 
rangements of  my  domestic  affairs,  which  will  of  themselves  take 
time  and  cannot  be  made  but  at  home.  I  shall  lose  no  time, 
however,  in  preparing  for  my  departure.  And  from  the  calcula- 
tion I  am  at  present  enabled  to  make,  I  suppose  I  cannot  be  in 


CORRESPONDENCE.  325 

Philadelphia  before  the  20th  of  December,  and  that  possibly  it 
may  be  the  last  of  that  month.  Some  days  I  must  certainly  pass 
there,  as  I  could  not  propose  to  jump  into  the  midst  of  a  negotia- 
tion without  a  single  article  of  previous  information.  From  these 
data,  you  will  be  enabled  to  judge  of  the  chance  of  availing  my- 
self of  his  Excellency,  the  Chevalier  de  Luzerne's,  kind  offers,  to 
whom  I  beg  you  to  present  my  thanks  for  his  friendly  attention, 
and  let  him  know  I  shall  use  my  best  endeavors  to  be  in  time  for 
the  departure  of  his  frigate.  No  circumstances  of  a  private  na- 
ture could  induce  me  to  hasten  over  the  several  obstacles  to  my 
departure  more  unremitting  than  the  hope  of  having  the  Chevalier 
de  Chattellux  as  a  companion  in  my  voyage.  A  previous  ac- 
quaintance with  his  worth  and  abilities,  had  impressed  me  with 
an  affection  for  him  which,  under  the  then  prospect  of  never 
seeing  him  again,  was  perhaps  imprudent. 

I  am  with  very  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  very  affectionate 
friend,  and  humble  servant. 


TO    GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

PHILADELPHIA,  January  22d,  1783. 

SIR, — Having  lately  received  a  call  from  Congress  to  pass  the 
Atlantic  in  the  character  of  their  minister  for  negotiating  peace, 
I  cannot  leave  the  continent  without  separating  myself  for  a 
moment  from  the  general  gratitude  of  my  country,  to  offer  my 
individual  tribute  to  your  Excellency  for  all  you  have  suffered 
and  all  you  have  effected  for  us.  Were  I  to  indulge  myself  in 
those  warm  effusions  which  this  subject  forever  prompts,  they 
would  wear  an  appearance  of  adulation  very  foreign  to  my 
nature ;  for  such  is  become  the  prostitution  of  language  that 
sincerity  has  no  longer  distinct  terms  in  which  to  express  her 
own  truths.  Should  you  give  me  occasion,  during  the  short 
mission  on  which  I  go,  to  render  you  any  service  beyond  the 
water,  I  shall,  for  a  proof  of  my  gratitude,  appeal  from  language 
o  the  zeal  with  which  I  shall  embrace  it.  The  negotiations  to 


326  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

which  I  am  joined  may  perhaps  be  protracted  beyond  our  present 
expectations,  in  which  case,  though  I  know  you  must  receive 
much  better  intelligence  from  the  gentlemen  whose  residence 
there  has  brought  them  into  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  characters  and  views  of  the  European  courts,  yet  I  shall 
certainly  presume  to  add  my  mite,  should  it  only  serve  to  con- 
vince you  of  the  warmth  of  those  sentiments  of  respect  and 
esteem  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    THE    CHEVALIER    DE    LA    LUZERNE,   MINISTER    OF    FRANCE. 

BALTIMORE,  February  7th,  1783. 

SIR, — The  Chevalier  de  Ville  Brun  was  so  kind  as  to  commu- 
nicate to  me  yesterday  your  Excellency's  letter  to  him  of  Jan- 
uary, together  with  the  intelligence  therein  referred  to.  I  feel 
myself  bound  to  return  you  my  thanks,  for  your  orders  to  the 
Guadeloupe  frigate  to  receive  me,  if  I  should  think  a  passage 
should  be  hazarded  under  present  circumstances.  According  to 
this  information  (which  is  the  most  worthy  of  credit  of  any  we 
have  received  here),  it  would  seem  that  our  capture  would  be  un- 
avoidable were  we  to  go  out  now.  This,  therefore,  is  a  risk  to 
which  I  cannot  think  of  exposing  his  Majesty's  vessel  and  sub- 
jects ;  however  I  might  be  disposed  to  encounter  personal  haz- 
zards,  from  my  anxiety  to  execute,  with  all  the  promptitude  in 
my  power,  a  service  which  has  been  assigned  to  me.  I  shall 
therefore  wait  with  patience  the  arrival  oi  the  moment  when  the 
Chevalier  de  Ville  Brun  shall  be  of  opinion  that  the  one  or  the 
other  of  the  vessels  may  venture  out  without  any  greater  risk 
than  he  shall  think  proportioned  to  her  proper  object,  indepen- 
dently of  mine.  It  has  been  suggested  to  me  this  evening,  that 
perhaps  their  safe  departure  might  be  greatly  forwarded  by  their 
falling  down  to  York,  or  Hampton,  there  to  be  ready  at  a  mo- 
ment's warning,  to  avail  themselves  of  those  favorable  circum- 
stances which  the  present  season  sometimes  offers. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  327 

But  of  this,  yourself  will  be  the  proper  judge.  I  cannot  close  my 
letter  without  expressing  to  you  my  obligations  to  the  Chevalier 
de  Ville  Brun  for  the  particular  attention  he  has  shown  to  my 
accommodation  on  board  his  ship.  The  apartments  he  has  had 
constructed  for  me  are  ample  and  commodious,  and  his  politeness 
and  deportment  as  an  officer  are  an  agreeable  presage  of  every- 
thing that  shall  depend  on  him.  I  have  delivered  to  him  the 
two  large  packets  you  were  pleased  to  put  into  my  hands,  and 
he  will  dispose  of  them  according  to  your  orders. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  sentiments  of  esteem, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    ROBERT    R.    LIVINGSTON,  SECRETARY    FOR    FOREIGN    AFFAIRS. 

BALTIMORE,  February  7,  1783. 

SIR, — I  arrived  here  on  the  30th  of  the  last  month,  and  had  a 
short  interview  the  same  evening  with  the  Chevalier  de  Ville 
Brun,  commander  of  the  Ramilies.  There  appeared  at  that  time 
little  apprehension  but  that  we  might  sail  in  a  few  days,  but  we 
were  not  very  particular  in  our  conference,  as  we  expected  to  see 
each  other  again.  The  severity  of  the  cold,  however,  which 
commenced  that  night,  obliged  the  Chevalier  de  Ville  Brun  to 
fall  twelve  miles  below  this  place,  and  excluded  all  correspon- 
dence with  him  till  yesterday,  when  I  found  means  to  get  through 
the  ice  on  board  his  ship.  He  then  communicated  to  me,  by 
direction  of  his  Excellency,  the  minister  of  France,  intelligence 
as  to  the  number  and  force  of  the  cruisers  now  actually  watching 
the  capes  of  the  Chesapeake.  I  must  acknowledge  that  the  ap- 
pearances are  such  as  to  render  a  capture  certain  were  we  to 
hazard  it.  The  minister  was  pleased  at  the  same  time  to  submit 
the  Guadeloupe  to  my  wishes,  if  I  chose  to  adventure.  I  take 
the  liberty  of  troubling  you  with  a  copy  of  my  letter  to  him  on 
that  subject.  I  should  certainly  be  disposed  to  run  very  con- 
siderable risks  myself  to  effect  my  passage  ;  but  should  think  it 
an  unfortunate  introduction  to  an  ally,  who  has  already  done  so 


328  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

much  for  us,  were  I  to  add  to  his  losses  and  disbursements  that 
of  a  valuable  ship  and  crew.  I  wish  that  the  present  delay 
offered  some  period  less  distant  than  the  lassitude  of  an  avaricious 
enemy  to  watch  for  prey.  Perhaps  you  may  be  able  to  put  me 
on  some  more  expeditious  mode  of  passage  than  the  one  under 
which  I  am  acquiescing  at  present.  I  shall  be  much  pleased  to 
adopt  any  such  which  may  come  recommended  from  you,  with- 
out regard  to  personal  risk  or  trouble.  In  the  meantime,  any  in- 
telligence which  you  can  collect  and  will  be  pleased  to  give  me 
as  to  the  state  of  our  coast,  will  be  of  utility  in  determining 
whether  and  when  we  shall  depart  hence. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  very  great  esteem  and  respect.  Sir, 
your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 

P.  S.   Your  letter  of  the  31st  ultimo  came  safely  to  hand 
v  th  the  packet  to  Mr.  Adams  accompanying  it. 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON    TO    THE    HONORABLE    THOMAS    JEFFERSON. 

NEWBURGH,  10th  February,  1783. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  been  honored  with  your  favor  of  22d  of 
January  from  Philadelphia.  I  feel  myself  much  flattered  by 
your  kind  remembrance  of  me  in  the  hour  of  your  departure 
from  this  continent,  for  the  favorable  sentiments  you  are  pleased 
to  entertain  of  my  services  for  this  our  common  country.  To 
merit  the  approbation  of  good  and  virtuous  men  is  the  height  of 
my  ambition,  and  will  be  a  full  compensation  for  all  my  toils 
and  sufferings  in  the  long  and  painful  contest  in  which  we  have 
been  engaged.  It  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  hear  that  the  call 
upon  you  from  Congress  to  pass  the  Atlantic  in  the  character  of 
one  of  their  ministers  for  negotiating  peace  had  been  repeated  ; 
but  I  hope  you  will  have  found  the  business  already  done.  The 
speech  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  is  strongly  indicative  of  the  olive 
branch ;  and  yet,  as  he  observes,  unforseen  events  may  place  it 


CORRESPONDENCE.  329 

out  of  reach.  At  present,  the  prospect  of  peace  absorbs,  or 
seems  to  do  so,  every  other  consideration  among  us  ;  and  would, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  leave  us  in  a  very  unprepared  state  to  continue 
the  war,  if  the  negotiations  at  Paris  should  terminate  otherwise 
than  in  a  general  pacification.  But  I  will  hope  that  it  is  the 
dearth  of  other  news  that  fills  the  mouths  of  every  person  with 
peace,  while  their  minds  are  employed  in  contemplating  on  the 
means  of  prosecuting  the  war,  if  necessity  should  drive  us  to  it. 
You  will  please  to  accept  my  grateful  thanks  for  your  obliging 
offer  of  services  during  your  stay  in  France.  To  hear  from  you 
frequently  will  be  an  honor  and  very  great  satisfaction  to,  dear 
Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


ROBERT    R.    LIVINGSTON    TO    THOMAS    JEFFERSON. 

PHILADELPHIA,  14th  February,  1783. 

SIR, — I  have  delayed  in  answering  your  favor  of  the 
7th  instant  until  I  could  obtain  the  sense  of  Congress  on  the 
matter  it  contains.  I  conceive  it  hardly  possible,  while  the 
British  cruisers  retain  their  present  station,  for  you  to  elude  their 
vigilance  in  either  of  the  ships  offered  to  your  choice.  This, 
concurring  with  the  late  advices  from  England,  has  induced 
Congress  to  pass  the  enclosed  resolution.*  We  have  reason  to 
conjecture  that  peace  is  already  concluded  ;  whether  it  is  or  not, 
a  few  days  will  determine.  I  transmit  the  speech  of  his  Britannic 
Majesty,  which,  with  what  you  already  know  of  the  state  of  our 
negotiations,  will  enable  you  to  form  your  opinion  on  the  same 

*  BY    THE    UNITED    STATES    IN  CONGRESS    ASSEMBLED  : 

February  14,  1783. 

The  committee  consisting  of  Mr.  Jones,  Mr.  Rutledge,  and  Mr.  Wilson,  to  whom 
was  referred  a  letter  of  the  7th  from  the  Honorable  Thomas  Jefferson,  reported 
thereon,  whereupon  on  motion  of  Mr.  Gorham,  seconded  by  Mr.  Wolcott,  ordered : 
That  the  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs  inform  Mr.  Jefferson,  that  it  is  the  pleasure 
of  Congress,  considering  the  advices  lately  received  in  America  and  the  probable 
situation  of  affairs  in  Europe,  that  he  do  not  proceed  on  his  intended  voyage  until 
he  shall  receive  their  further  instructions.  CHARLES  THOMPSON,  (copied) 

Secretary. 


330  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

ground  that  we  do.     I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  with  great 
respect  and  esteem,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    R.   R.  LIVINGSTON. 

BALTIMORE,  February  14,  1783. 

SIR, — I  apprised  you  in  my  former  letter  of  the  causes  which 
had  so  long  delayed  my  departure.  These  still  continue.  I  have 
this  moment  received  a  printed  copy  of  his  British  Majesty's 
speech  to  his  Parliament,  by  which  we  learn  that  the  prelimina- 
ries between  Great  Britain  and  America,  among  which  is  one  for 
the  acknowledgment  of  our  independence,  have  been  provisionally 
agreed  to  on  his  part.  That  the  negotiations  with  the  other  pow- 
ers at  war  were  considerably  advanced,  and  that  he  hoped,  in  a 
very  short  time,  they  would  end  in  terms  of  pacification.  As 
considerable  progress  has  been  made  in  the  negotiations  for 
peace  since  the  appointment  with  which  Congress  were  pleased 
to  honor  me,  it  may  have  become  doubtful  whether  any  commu- 
nications I  could  make  or  any  assistance  I  could  yield  to  the  very 
able  gentlemen  in  whose  hands  the  business  already  is,  would 
compensate  the  expense  of  prosecuting  my  voyage  to  Europe. 
I  therefore  beg  leave  through  you,  Sir,  to  assure  Congress  that  I 
desire  this  question  to  be  as  open  to  them  now  as  it  was  on  the 
day  of  my  appointment,  and  that  I  have  not  a  wish  either  to  go 
or  to  stay.  They  will  be  pleased  to  weigh  the  economy  of  the 
one  measure  against  the  chance  which  the  other  may  offer  of  my 
arriving  in  such  time  as  that  any  communications  which  have 
been  confided  to  me  may  produce  effect  on  definitive  articles. 
I  shall  continue  here  for  the  prosecution  of  my  voyage,  under  the 
orders  before  received,  or  for  its  discontinuance,  should  that  be 
more  eligible  to  Congress,  and  be  signified  at  any  moment  before 
my  departure.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  331 


ROBERT    R.    LIVINGSTON    TO    THOMAS    JEFFERSON. 

PHILADELPHIA,  February  18,  1783. 

SIR, — I  was  yesterday  honored  with  your  favor  of  the  14th, 
which  I  shall  lay  before  Congress  this  morning.  As  you  have 
by  this  time  received  their  resolution  which  I  had  the  honor  to 
send  you  by  the  last  post,  and  again  enclosed,  you  will  be  re- 
lieved in  some  measure  from  your  embarrassments,  though  not 
entirely  of  your  suspense  with  respect  to  their  final  determination. 
But  that  cannot  be  long  doubtful,  since  the  negotiations  have 
certainly  arrived  at  such  a  crisis  as  either  to  terminate  soon  in  a 
peace  or  a  total  rupture.  In  the  latter  case,  you  will  necessarily 
be  obliged  to  proceed  on  your  voyage,  as  Congress  seems  anxious 
to  avail  themselves  of  your  abilities  and  information  in  the  ne- 
gotiations, unless  they  are  fully  assured  that  a  speedy  peace  will 
preclude  them  from  that  advantage. 

I  enclose  a  paper  which  contains  all  that  we  have  yet  received 
on  that  interesting  subject.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  difficult  to  ac- 
count for  our  ministers  having  signed  before  those  of  France. 
But  if  this  letter  is  genuine,  it  serves,  when  compared  with  their 
instructions,  to  prove  that  the  terms  of  peace  are  acceptable  to 
us  and  not  disagreeable  to  France.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 
with  great  respect  and  esteem,  your  most  obedient,  and  most 
humble  servant. 


TO    THE    HON.   R.  R.  LIVINGSTON. 

PHILADELPHIA,  March  13,  1783. 

SIR, — Supposing  the  despatches  received  by  the  Washington, 
may  have  enabled  Congress  to  decide  on  the  expediency  of  con- 
tinuing, or  of  countermanding  my  mission  to  Europe,  I  take  the 
liberty  of  expressing  to  you  the  satisfaction  it  will  give  me  to 


332  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

receive  their  ultimate  will,  so  soon  as  other  business  will  permit 
them  to  revert  to  this  subject.*     I  have  the  honor,  &c. 


TO  JOHN  JAY. 

PHILADELPHIA,  April  11, 1*783. 

DEAR  SIR, — In  a  letter  which  I  did  myself  the  honor  of  writ- 
ing to  you  by  the  Chevalier  de  Chattellux,  I  informed  you  of  my 
being  at  this  place,  with  the  intention  of  joining  you  in  Paris. 
But  the  uncommon  vigilance  of  the  enemy's  cruisers,  imme- 
diately after  the  departure  of  the  French  fleet,  deterred  every 
vessel  from  attempting  to  go  out.  The  arrival  of  the  prelimi- 
naries soon  after  showed  the  impropriety  of  my  proceeding,  and 
I  am  just  now  setting  out  on  my  return  to  Virginia.  I  cannot, 
however,  take  my  departure,  without  paying  to  yourself  and 
your  worthy  colleague  my  homage  for  the  good  work  you  have 
completed  for  us,  and  congratulating  you  on  the  singular  happi- 
ness of  having  borne  so  distinguished  a  part  both  in  the  earliest 
and  latest  transactions  of  this  revolution.  The  terms  obtained 
for  us  are  indeed  great,  and  are  so  deemed  by  your  country — a 
few  ill-designing  debtors  excepted.  I  am  in  hopes  you  will  con- 
tinue at  some  one  of  the  European  courts  most  agreeable  to 
yourself,  that  we  may  still  have  the  benefit  of  your  talents.  I 
took  the  liberty  in  my  letter  of  suggesting  a  wish  that  you  would 

[*The  following  resolution  was  passed  by  Congress  relative  to  Mr.  Jefferson's 
mission  to  Europe. — ED.] 

BY    THE    UNITED    STATES    IN    CONGRESS    ASSEMBLED  : 

April  1st,  1783. 

Resolved,  That  tlae  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs  inform  the  Hon.  Thomas  Jefferson, 
in  answer  to  his  letter  of  the  13th  of  March,  that  Congress  consider  the  object  of  his 
appointment  so  far  advanced  as  to  render  it  unnecessary  for  him  to  pursue  his  voyage, 
and  that  Congress  are  well  satisfied  with  the  readiness  he  has  shown  in  undertaking 
&  service  which  from  the  present  situation  of  affairs  they  apprehend  can  be  dispensed 
*rith.  Extracts  from  the  minutes, 

CHARLES  THOMPSON,  (copied) 

Secretary.9 


CORRESPONDENCE.  333 

be  so  kind  as  to  engage  lodgings  for  me.  Should  you  have  given 
yourself  this  trouble,  I  beg  leave  to  return  you  my  thanks,  and 
to  ask  the  favor  of  you  to  communicate  the  amount  of  their  hire 
to  Mr.  Robert  Morris,  of  this  city,  who  will  immediately  remit 
it  to  you,  as  I  lodge  money  in  his  hands  for  this  purpose.  Accept 
my  warmest  wishes  for  your  happiness,  and  be  assured  of  the 
sincerity  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  Sir,  your  most 
obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 

P.  S.  I  beg  to  be  affectionately  remembered  to  Dr.  F.  and  Mr. 

A.,  if  they  be  still  with  you. 


TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    GENERAL    WASHINGTON. 

ANNAPOLIS,  April  16,  1784. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  received  your  favor  of  April  8th,  by  Colonel 
Harrison.  The  subject  of  it  is  interesting,  and,  so  far  as  you 
have  stood  connected  with  it,  has  been  matter  of  anxiety  to  me ; 
because,  whatever  may  be  the  ultimate  fate  of  the  institution  of 
the  Cincinnati,  in  its  course,  it  draws  to  it  some  degree  of  dis- 
approbation, I  have  wished  to  see  you  standing  on  ground 
separated  from  it,  and  that  the  character  which  will  be  handed 
to  future  ages  at  the  head  of  our  Revolution,  may,  in  no  in- 
stance, be  compromitted  in  subordinate  altercations.  The  sub- 
ject has  been  at  the  point  of  my  pen  in  every  letter  I  have  writ- 
ten to  you.  but  has  been  still  restrained  by  the  reflection  that 
you  had  among  your  friends  more  able  counsellors,  and,  in 
yourself,  one  abler  than  them  all.  Your  letter  has  now  ren- 
dered a  duty  what  was  before  a  desire,  and  I  cannot  better  merit 
your  confidence  than  by  a  full  and  free  communication  of  facts 
and  sentiments,  as  far  as  they  have  come  within  my  observa- 
tion.' When  the  army  was  about  to  be  disbanded,  and  the  offi- 
cers to  take  final  leave,  perhaps  never  again  to  meet,  it  was  na- 
tural for  men  who  had  accompanied  each  other  through  so  many 
scenes  of  hardship,  of  difficulty,  and  danger,  who,  in  a  variety 


334  JEFFERSON'S   WORKS. 

of  instances,  must  have  been  rendered  mutually  dear  by  those 
aids  and  good  offices,  to  which  their  situations  had  given  occa- 
sion ;  it  was  natural,  I  say,  for  these  to  seize  with  fondness  any 
proposition  which  promised  to  bring  them  together  again,  at  cer- 
tain and  regular  periods.  And  this,  I  take  for  granted,  was  the 
origin  and  object  of  this*  institution  ;  and  I  have  no  suspicion 
that  they  foresaw,  much  less  intended,  those  mischiefs  which 
exist,  perhaps  in  the  forebodings  of  politicians  only.  I  doubt, 
however,  whether,  in  its  execution,  it  would  be  found  to  answer 
the  wishes  of  those  who  framed  it,  and  to  foster  those  friend- 
ships it  was  intended  to  -preserve.  The  members  would  be 
brought  together  at  their  annual  assemblies,  no  longer  to  en- 
counter a  common  enemy,  but  to  encounter  one  another  in  de- 
bate and  sentiment.  For  something,  I  suppose,  is  to  be  done 
at  these  meetings,  and,  however  unimportant,  it  will  suffice  to 
produce  difference  of  opinion,  contradiction  and  irritation.  The 
way  to  make  friends  quarrel  is  to  put  them  in  disputation  under 
the  public  eye.  An  experience  of  near  twenty  years  has  taught 
me,  that  few  friendships  stand  this  test,  and  that  public  assem- 
blies, where  every  one  is  free  to  act  and  speak,  are  the  most 
powerful  looseners  of  the  bands  of  private  friendship.  I  think, 
therefore,  that  this  institution  would  fail  in  its  principal  object, 
the  perpetuation  of  the  personal  friendships  contracted  through 
the  war. 

The  objections  of  those  who  are  opposed  to  the  institution 
shall  be  briefly  sketched.  You  will  readily  fill  them  up.  They 
urge  that  it  is  against  the  Confederation — against  the  letter  of 
some  of  our  constitutions — against  the  spirit  of  all  of  them  ; — 
that  the  foundation  on  which  all  these  are  built,  is  the  natural 
equality  of  man,  the  denial  of  every  pre-eminence  but  that  an- 
nexed to  legal  office,  and,  particularly,  the  denial  of  a  pre-emi- 
nence by  birth ;  that,  however,  in  their  present  dispositions, 
citizens  might  decline  accepting  honorary  instalments  into  the 
order,  a  time  may  come,  when  a  change  of  dispositions  would 
render  these  flattering,  when  a  well-directed  distribution  of 
them  might  draw  into  the  order  all  the  men  of  talents,  of 


CORRESPONDENCE.  335 

office  and  wealth,  and  in  this  case,  would  probably  procure  an 
ingraftment  into  the  government ;  that  in  this,  they  will  be  sup- 
ported by  their  foreign  members,  and  the  wishes  and  influence 
of  foreign  courts ;  that  experience  has  shown  that  the  heredi- 
tary branches  of  modern  governments  are  the  patrons  of  privilege 
and  prerogative,  and  not  of  the  natural  rights  of  the  people, 
whose  oppressors  they  generally  are ;  that,  besides  these  evils, 
which  are  remote,  others  may  take  place  more  immediately ; 
that  a  distinction  is  kept  up  between  the  civil  and  military, 
which  it  is  for  the  happiness  of  both  to  obliterate  ;  that  when 
the  members  assemble  they  will  be  proposing  to  do  something, 
and  what  that  something  may  be,  will  depend  on  actual  circum- 
stances ;  that  being  an  organized  body,  under  habits  of  subor- 
dination, the  first  obstruction  to  enterprize  will  be  already  sur- 
mounted ;  that  the  moderation  and  virtue  of  a  single  character 
have  probably  prevented  this  Revolution  from  being  closed,  as 
most  others  have  been,  by  a  subversion  of  that  liberty  it  was  in- 
tended to  establish  ;  that  he  is  not  immortal,  and  his  successor, 
or  some  of  his  successors,  may  be  led  by  false  calculation  into  a 
less  certain  road  to  glory. 

What  are  the  sentiments  of  Congress  on  this  subject,  and 
what  line  they  will  pursue,  can  only  be  stated  conjecturally. 
Congress,  as  a  body,  if  left  to  themselves,  will,  in  my  opinion, 
say  nothing  on  the  subject.  They  may,  however,  be  forced 
into  a  declaration  by  instructions  from  some  of  the  States,  or  by 
other  incidents.  Their  sentiments,  if  forced  from  them,  will 
be  unfriendly  to  the  institution.  If  permitted  to  pursue  their 
own  path,  they  will  check  it  by  side-blows  whenever  it  comes 
in  their  way,  and  in  competitions  for  office,  on  equal  or  nearly 
equal  ground,  will  give  silent  preferences  to  those  who  are  not 
of  the  fraternity.  My  reasons  for  thinking  this  are,  1.  The 
grounds  on  which  they  lately  declined  the  foreign  order  pro- 
posed to  be  conferred  on  some  of  our  citizens.  2.  The  fourth 
of  the  fundamental  articles  of  constitution  for  the  new  States. 
I  enclose  you  the  report ;  it  has  been  considered  by  Congress, 
recommitted  and  reformed  by  a  committee,  according  to  senti- 


336  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

ments  expressed  on  other  parts  of  it,  but  the  principle  referred 
to,  having  not  been  controverted  at  all,  stands  in  this  as  in  the 
original  report ;  it  is  not  vet  confirmed  by  Congress.  3.  Private 
conversations  on  this  subject  with  the  members.  Since  the  re- 
ceipt of  your  letter,  1  have  taken  occasion  to  extend  these  ;  not, 
indeed,  to  the  military  members,  because,  being  of  the  order, 
delicacy  forbade  it,  but  to  the  others  pretty  generally ;  and 
among  these,  I  have  as  yet  found  but  one  who  is  not  opposed  to 
the  institution,  and  that  with  an  anguish  of  mind,  though  cover- 
ed under  a  guarded  silence,  which  I  have  not  seen  produced  by 
any  circumstance  before.  I  arrived  at  Philadelphia  before  the 
separation  of  the  last  Congress,  and  saw  there  and  at  Princeton 
some  of  its  members,  not  now  in  delegation.  Burke's  piece  hap- 
pened to  come  out  at  that  time,  which  •  occasioned  this  institu- 
tion to  be  the  subject  of  conversation.  I  found  the  same  im- 
pressions made  on  them  which  their  successors  have  received. 
I  hear  from  other  quarters  that  it  is  disagreeable,  generally,  to 
such  citizens  as  have  attended  to  it,  and,  therefore,  will  probably 
be  so  to  all,  when  any  circumstance  shall  present  it  to  the  notice 
of  all. 

This,  Sir,  is  as  faithful  an  account  of  sentiments  and  facts  as 
I  am  able  to  give  you.  You  know  the  extent  of  the  circle 
within  which  my  observations  are  at  present  circumscribed,  and 
can  estimate  how  far,  as  forming  a  part  of  the  general  opinion, 
it  may  merit  notice,  or  ought  to  influence  your  particular  con- 
duct. 

It  remains  now  to  pay  obedience  to  that  part  of  your  letter, 
which  requests  sentiments  on  the  most  eligible  measures  to  be 
pursued  by  the  society,  at  their  next  meeting.  I  must  be  far 
from  pretending  to  be  a  judge  of  what  would,  in  fact,  be  the 
most  eligible  measures  for  the  society.  I  can  only  give  you  the 
opinions  of  those  with  whom  I  have  conversed,  and  who,  as  I 
have  before  observed,  are  unfriendly  to  it.  They  lead  to  these 
conclusions :  1.  If  the  society  proceed  according  to  its  institu- 
tion, it  will  be  better  to  make  no  applications  to  Congress  on 
that  subject,  or  any  other,  in  their  associated  character.  2.  If 


CORRESPONDENCE.  337 

they  should  propose  to  modify  it,  so  as  to  render  it  unobjection- 
able, I  think  this  would  not  be  effected  without  such  a  modifi- 
cation as  would  amount  almost  to  annihilation  ;  for  such  would  it 
be  to  part  with  its  inheritability,  its  organization,  and  its  assem- 
blies. 3.  If  they  shall  be  disposed  to  discontinue  the  whole, 
it  would  remain  with  them  to  determine  whether  they  would 
choose  it  to  be  done  by  their  own  act  only,  or  by  a  reference  of 
the  matter  to  Congress,  which  would  infallibly  produce  a  re- 
commendation of  total  discontinuance. 

You  will  be  sensible,  Sir,  that  these  communications  are 
without  reserve.  I  supposed  such  to  be  your  wish,  and  mean 
them  but  as  materials,  with  such  others  as  you  may  collect,  for 
your  better  judgment  to  work  on.  I  consider  the  whole  matter 
as  between  ourselves  alone;  having  determined  to  take  no  active 
part  in  this  or  anything  else,  which  may  lead  to  altercation,  or 
disturb  that  quiet  and  tranquillity  of  mind,  to  which  I  consign 
the  remaining  portion  of  my  life.  I  have  been  thrown  back  by 
events,  on  a  stage  where  I  had  never  more  thought  to  appear.* 
It  is  but  for  a  time,  however,  and  as  a  day  laborer,  free  to  with- 
draw, or  be  withdrawn  at  will.  While  I  remain,  I  shall  pursue 
in  silence  the  path  of  right,  but  in  every  situation,  public  or  pri- 
vate, I  shall  be  gratified  by  all  occasions  of  rendering  you  ser- 
vice, and  of  convincing  you  there  is  no  one  to  whom  your  repu- 
tation and  happiness  are  dearer  than  to,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 

[*  Mr.  Jefferson  being  released  from  his  mission  to  Europe  on  account  of  the 
news  of  peace,  and  having  returned  to  Virginia,  was  again  appointed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture a  delegate  to  Congress  on  the  6th  of  June,  1783.  On  the  3d  of  the  following 
November  he  arrived  at  Trenton,  where  Congress  was  then  sitting,  and  took  his  seat 
on  the  4th,  on  which  day  that  body  adjourned  to  meet  at  Annapolis  on  the  26th.  Mr. 
Jefferson  remained  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  delegate  until  the  7th  of  Mfiy, 
1784,  when  Congress,  having  determined  to  add  a  third  minister  plenipotentiary  to 
Mr.  Adams  and  Dr.  Franklin,  conferred  the  appointment  on  him.  On  the  6th  of 
August,  1784,  he  reached  Paris.  The  purpose  for  which  he  had  been  associated  with 
Mr.  Adams  and  Dr.  Franklin  was  to  negotiate  commercial  treaties  with  the  European 
nations.  In  June,  1785,  Mr.  Adams  removed  to  London  as.  our  minister  at  that 
court,  and  Dr.  Franklin  obtained  permission  to  return  to  America,  thus  leaving  Mr. 
Jefferson  our  only  representative  at  Paris  in  the  character  of  minister  plenipotentiary. 
Here  he  remained  until  the  26th  of  September,  1789,  something  more  than  five 
years,  when  he  took  leave  of  Paris,  and  landed  at  Norfolk  in  the  latter  part  of 
November. — ED.]  22 


PART    II. 

LETTERS  WRITTEN  WHILE  IN  EUROPE, 
1Y84-1790. 


TO  COLONEL  URIAH  FORREST. 

PARIS,  CUL-DE-SAC  TETEBOUT,  October  20th,  1784. 

SIR, — I  received  yesterday  your  favor  of  the  8th  instant,  and 
this  morning  went  to  Auteuil  and  Passy,  to  consult  with  Mr. 
Adams  and  Dr.  Franklin  on  the  subject  of  it.  We  conferred 
together,  and  think  it  is  a  case  in  which  we  could  not  interpose 
(were  there  as  yet  cause  for  interposition),  without  express  in- 
structions from  Congress.  It  is,  however,  our  private  opinion, 
which  we  give  as  individuals  only,  that  Mr.  McLanahan,  while 
in  England,  is  subject  to  the  laws  of  England ;  that,  therefore, 
he  must  employ  counsel,  and  be  guided  in  his  defence  by  their 
advice.  The  law  of  nations,  and  the  treaty  of  peace,  as  making 
a  part  of  the  law  of  the  land,  will  undoubtedly  be  under  the 
consideration  of  the  judges  who  pronounce  on  Mr.  McLanahan's 
case ;  and  we  are  willing  to  hope,  that  in  their  knowledge  and 
integrity,  he  will  find  certain  resources  against  injustice,  and  a 
reparation  of  all  injury  to  which  he  may  have  been  groundlessly 
exposed.  A  final  and  palpable  failure  on  their  part,  which  we 
have  no  reason  to  apprehend,  might  make  the  case  proper  for  the 
consideration  of  Congress. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  great  respect  and 
esteem,  for  Mr.  McLanahan,  as  well  as  yourself,  Sir,  your  most 
obedient  humble  servant. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  339 


TO    JOHN   JAY. 

PARIS,  May  llth,  1785. 

SIR, — I  was  honored,  on  the  2d  instant,  with  the  receipt  of 
your  favor  of  March  the  15th,  enclosing  the  resolution  of  Con- 
gress of  the  10th  of  the  same  month,  appointing  me  their  Min- 
ister Plenipotentiary  at  this  court,  and  also  of  your  second  letter 
of  March  22d,  covering  the  commission  and  letter  of  credence 
for  that  appointment.  I  beg  permission  through  you,  Sir,  to 
testify  to  Congress  my  gratitude  for  this  new  mark  of  their  favor, 
and  my  assurance  of  endeavoring  to  merit  it  by  a  faithful  atten- 
tion to  the  discharge  of  the  duties  annexed  to  it.  Fervent  zeal 
is  all  which  I  can  be  sure  of  carrying  into  their  service,  and, 
where  I  fail  through  a  want  of  those  powers  which  nature  and 
circumstances  deny  me,  I  shall  rely  on  their  indulgence,  and 
much  also  on  that  candor  with  which  your  goodness  will  present 
my  proceedings  to  their  eye.  The  kind  terms  in  which  you  are 
pleased  to  notify  this  honor  to  me,  require  my  sincere  thanks.  I 
beg  you  to  accept  them,  and  to  be  assured  of  the  perfect  esteem, 
with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and 
most  humble  servant, 


TO    GENERAL    CHASTELLUX. 

PARIS,  June  7th,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  been  honored  with  the  receipt  of  your 
letter  of  the  2d  instant,  and  am  to  thank  you,  as  I  do  sincerely, 
for  the  partiality  with  which  you  receive  the  copy  of  the  Notes 
on  my  country.  As  I  can  answer  for  the  facts,  therein  reported, 
on  my  own  observation,  and  have  admitted  none  on  the  report 
of  others,  which  were  not  supported  by  evidence  sufficient  to 
command  my  own  assent,  I  am  not  afraid  that  you  should  make 
any  extracts  you  please  for  the  Journal  de  Physique,  which  come 
within  their  plan  of  publication.  The  strictures  on  slavery  and 


340  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

on  the  constitution  of  Virginia,  are  not  of  that  kind,  and  they 
are  the  parts  which  I  do  not  wish  to  have  made  public,  at  least 
till  I  know  whether  their  publication  would  do  most  harm  or 
good.  It  is  possible,  that  in  my  own  country,  these  strictures 
might  produce  an  irritation,  which  would  indispose  the  people 
towards  the  two  great  objects  I  have  in  view ;  that  is,  the  eman- 
cipation of  their  slaves,  and  the  settlement  of  their  constitution 
on  a  firmer  and  more  permanent  basis.  If  I  learn  from  thence, 
that  they  will  not  produce  that  effect,  I  have  printed  and  re- 
served just  copies  enough  to  be  able  to  give  one  to  every  young 
man  at  the  College.  It  is  to  them  I  look,  to  the  rising  genera- 
tion, and  not  to  the  one  now  in  power,  for  these  great  reforma- 
tions. The  other  copy,  delivered  at  your  hotel,  was  for  Monsieur 
de  Buffon.  I  meant  to  ask  the  favor  of  you  to  have  it  sent  to 
him,  as  I  was  ignorant  how  to  do  it.  I  have  one  also  for  Mon- 
sieur Daubenton,  but  being  utterly  unknown  to  him,  I  cannot 
take  the  liberty  of  presenting  it,  till  I  can  do  it  through  some 
common  acquaintance. 

I  will  beg  leave  to  say  here  a  few  words  on  the  general  ques- 
tion of  the  degeneracy  of  animals  in  America.  1.  As  to  the 
degeneracy  of  the  man  of  Europe  transplanted  to  America,  it  is 
no  part  of  Monsieur  de  Buffon's  system.  He  goes,  indeed,  within 
one  step  of  it,  but  he  stops  there.  The  Abbe  Raynal  alone  has 
taken  that  step.  Your  knowledge  of  America  enables  you  to 
judge  this  question,  to  say,  whether  the  lower  class  of  people  in 
America  are  less  informed  and  less  susceptible  of  information, 
than  the  lower  class  in  Europe ;  and  whether  those  in  America, 
who  have  received  such  an  education  as  that  country  can  give, 
are  less  improved  by  it  than  Europeans  of  the  same  degree  of 
education.  2.  As  to  the  aboriginal  man  of  America,  I  know  of 
no  respectable  evidence  on  which  the  opinion  of  his  inferiority 
of  genius  has  been  founded,  but  that  of  Don  Ulloa.  As  to  Ro- 
bertson, he  never  was  in  America,  he  relates  nothing  on  his  own 
knowledge,  he  is  a  compiler  only  of  the  relations  of  others,  and 
a  mere  translator  of  the  opinions  of  Monsieur  de  Buffon.  I 
should  as  soon,  therefore,  add  the  translators  of  Robertson  to  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  341 

witnesses  of  this  fact,  as  himself.  Paw,  the  beginner  of  this 
charge,  was  a  compiler  from  the  works  of  others ;  and  of  the 
most  unlucky  description  ;  for  he  seems  to  have  read  the  writings 
of  travellers,  only  to  collect  and  republish  their  lies.  It  is  really 
remarkable,  that  in  three  volumes  12mo,  of  small  print,  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  find  one  truth,  and  yet,  that  the  author  should 
be  able  to  produce  authority  for  every  fact  he  states,  as  he  says  he 
can.  Don  Ulloa's  testimony  is  the  most  respectable.  He  wrote 
of  what  he  saw,  but  he  saw  the  Indian  of  South  America  only,  and 
that  after  he  had  passed  through  ten  generations  of  slavery.  It 
is  very  unfair,  from  this  sample,  to  judge  of  the  natural  genius 
of  this  race  of  men ;  and, after  supposing  that  Don  Ulloa  had  not 
sufficiently  calculated  the  allowance  which  should  be  made  for 
this  circumstance,  we  do  him  no  injury  in  considering  the  picture 
he  draws  of  the  present  Indians  of  South  America,  as  no  picture 
of  what  their  ancestors  were  three  hundred  years  ago.  It  is  in 
North  America  we  are  to  seek  their  original  character.  And  I 
am  safe  in  affirming,  that  the  proofs  of  genius  given  by  the 
Indians  of  North  America  place  them  on  a  level  with  whites  in 
the  same  uncultivated  state.  The  North  of  Europe  furnishes 
subjects  enough  for  comparison  with  them,  and  for  a  proof  of 
their  equality.  I  have  seen  some  thousands  myself,  and  con- 
versed much  with  them,  and  have  found  in  them  a  masculine, 
sound  understanding.  I  have  had  much  information  from  men 
who  had  lived  among  them,  and  whose  veracity  and  good  sense 
were  so  far  known  to  me,  as  to  establish  a  reliance  on  their  in- 
formation. They  have  all  agreed  in  bearing  witness  in  favor  of 
the  genius  of  this  people.  As  to  their  bodily  strength,  their 
manners  rendering  it  disgraceful  to  labor,  those  muscles  em- 
ployed in  labor  will  be  weaker  with  them,  than  with  the  Euro- 
pean laborer ;  but  those  which  are  exerted  in  the  chase,  and 
those  faculties  which  are  employed  in  the  tracing  an  enemy  or  a 
wild  beast,  in  contriving  ambuscades  for  him,  and  in  carrying 
them  through  their  execution,  are  much  stronger  than  with  us, 
because  they  are  more  exercised.  I  believe  the  Indian,  then,  to 
be,  in  body  and  mind,  equal  to  the  white  man.  I  have  supposed 


JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

the  black  man,  in  his  present  state,  might  not  be  so  ;  but  it  would 
be  hazardous  to  affirm,  that,  equally  cultivated  for  a  few  genera- 
tions, he  would  not  become  so.  3.  As  to  the  inferiority  of  the 
other  animals  of  America,  without  more  facts,  I  can  add  nothing 
to  what  I  have  said  in  my  Notes. 

As  to  the  theory  of  Monsieur  de  Buffon,  that  heat  is  friendly, 
and  moisture  adverse  to  the  production  of  large  animals,  I  am 
lately  furnished  with  a  fact  by  Dr.  Franklin,  which  proves  the 
air  of  London  and  of  Paris  to  be  more  humid  than  that  of  Phil- 
adelphia, and  so  creates  a  suspicion  that  the  opinion  of  the  supe- 
rior humidity  of  America  may,  perhaps,  have  been  too  hastily 
adopted.  And, supposing  that  fact  admitted,  I  think  the  physical 
reasonings  urged  to  show,  that  in  a  moist  country  animals  must 
be  small,  and  that  in  a  hot  one  they  must  be  large,  are  not  built 
on  the  basis  of  experiment.  These  questions,  however,  cannot 
be  decided,  ultimately,  at  this  day.  More  facts  must  be  collect- 
ed, and  more  time  flow  off,  before  the  world  will  be  ripe  for  de- 
cision. In  the  meantime,  doubt  is  wisdom. 

I  have  been  fully  sensible  of  the  anxieties  of  your  situation, 
and  that  your  attentions  were  wholly  consecrated,  where  alone 
they  were  wholly  due,  to  the  succor  of  friendship  and  worth. 
However  much  I  prize  your  society,  I  wait  with  patience  the 
moment  when  I  can  have  it  without  taking  what  is  due  to  an- 
other. In  the  meantime,  I  am  solaced  with  the  hope  of  possess- 
ing your  friendship,  and  that  it  is  not  ungrateful  to  you  to  re- 
ceive assurances  of  that  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
dear  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  343 


TO  THE  GOVERNOR  OF  MARYLAND. 

PARIS,  June  16,  1785. 

SIR, — I  have  the  honor  of  enclosing  to  your  Excellency  some 
propositions  which  have  been  made  from  London  to  the  Farmers 
General,  to  furnish  them  with  the  tobaccos  of  Maryland  and 
Virginia.  For  this  paper,  I  am  indebted  to  the  zeal  of  the  M. 
de  La  Fayette.  I  take  the  liberty  of  troubling  you  with  it  on  a 
supposition  that  it  may  be  possible  to  have  this  article  furnished 
from  those  States  to  this  country  immediately  without  its  pass- 
ing through  the  entrepot  of  London,  and  the  returns  for  it  being 
made,  of  course,  in  London  merchandise.  Twenty  thousand 
hogsheads  of  tobacco  a  year  delivered  here  in  exchange  for  the 
produce  and  manufacture  of  this  country,  many  of  which  are  as 
good  and  cheaper  than  in  England,  would  establish  a  rivalship 
for  our  commerce  which  would  have  happy  effects  upon  both 
countries.  Whether  this  end  will  be  best  effected  by  giving  out 
these  propositions  to  OUT  merchants  and  exciting  them  to  become 
candidates  with  the  Farmers  General  for  this  contract,  or  by  any 
other  means,  your  Excellency  can  best  judge.  I  shall  mention 
this  matter  also  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia.  The  other  paper 
which  accompanies  the  one  before  mentioned,  is  too  miserable 
to  need  notice.  I  will  take  measures  for  apprising  them  of  its 
errors. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect 
and  esteem,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most  humble 
servant. 


344  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

TO    MR.  JAY. 

PARIS,  June  17,  1785. 

Sm, — I  had  the  honor  of  addressing  you  on  the  llth  of  the 
last  month  by  young  Mr.  Adams,  who  sailed  in  the  packet  of 
that  month.  That  of  the  present  is  likely  to  be  retarded  to  the 
first  of  July,  if  not  longer. 

On  the  14th  of  May  I  communicated  to  the  Count  de  Vergen- 
nes  my  appointment  as  minister  plenipotentiary  to  this  Court, 
and  on  the  17th  delivered  my  letter  of  credence  to  the  King  at 
a  private  audience,  and  went  through  the  other  ceremonies  usual 
on  such  occasion. 

We  have  reason  to  expect  that  Europe  will  enjoy  peace  another 
year.  The  negotiations  between  the  Emperor  and  United  Neth- 
erlands have  been  spun  out  to  an  unexpected  length,  but  there 
seems  little  doubt  but  they  will  end  in  peace.  Whether  the  ex- 
change projected  between  the  Emperor  and  Elector  of  Bavaria, 
or  the  pretensions  of  the  former  in  his  line  of  demarcation  with 
the  Ottoman  Porte  will  produce  war,  is  yet  uncertain.  If  either 
of  them  does,  this  country  will  probably  take  part  in  it  to  prevent 
a  dangerous  accession  of  power  to  the  House  of  Austria.  The 
zeal  with  which  they  have  appeared  to  negotiate  a  peace  between 
Holland  and  the  Empire  seems  to  prove  that  they  do  not  appre- 
hend being  engaged  in  war  against  the  Emperor  for  any  other 
power ;  because,  if  they  had  such  an  apprehension,  they  would 
not  wish  to  deprive  themselves  of  the  assistance  of  the  Dutch  :  and 
their  opinion  on  this  subject  is  better  evidence  than  the  details 
we  get  from  the  newspapers,  and  must  weigh  against  the  affected 
delays  of  the  Porte,  as  to  the  line  of  demarcation,  the  change  in 
their  ministry,  their  preparation  for  war,  and  other  symptoms  of 
like  aspect.  This  question  is  not  altogether  uninteresting  to  us. 
Should  this  country  be  involved  in  a  Continental  war,  while  dif- 
ferences are  existing  between  us  and  Great  Britain,  the  latter 
might  carry  less  moderation  into  the  negotiations  for  settling 
them. 

I  send  you  herewith  the  gazettes  of  Leyden  and  that  of 


COBRESPONDEN"CE.  345 

Fihhce  for  the  last  two  months,  the  latter  because  it  is  the  best 
in  this  country,  the  former  as  being  the  best  in  Europe.  The 
Courier  de  1' Europe  you  will  get  genuine  from  London.  As  re- 
printed here  it  is  of  less  worth.  Should  your  knowledge  of  the 
newspapers  of  this  country  lead  you  to  wish  for  any  other,  I 
shall  take  the  greatest  pleasure  in  adding  it  to  the  regular  trans- 
missions of  two  others  which  I  shall  make  you  in  future. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  esteem  and  respect, 
your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant, 


TO    COLONEL    MONROE. 

PARIS,  June  17,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  received  three  days  ago  your  favor  of  April  the 
12th.  You  therein  speak  of  a  former  letter  to  me,  but  it  has  not 
come  to  hand,  nor  any  other  of  later  date  than  the  14th  of  De- 
cember. My  last  to  you  was  of  the  llth  of  May  by  Mr.  Adams, 
who  went  in  the  packet  of  that  month.  These  conveyances 
are  now  becoming  deranged.  We  have  had  expectations  of 
their  coming  to  Havre,  which  would  infinitely  facilitate  the  com- 
munication between  Paris  and  Congress ;  but  their  deliberations 
on  the  subject  seem  to  be  taking  another  turn.  They  complain 
of  the  expense,  and  that  their  commerce  with  us  is  too  small  to 
justify  it.  They  therefore  talk  of  sending  a  packet  every  six 
weeks  only.  The  present  one,  therefore,  which  should  have 
sailed  about  this  time,  will  not  sail  till  the  1st  of  July.  How- 
ever, the  whole  matter  is  as  yet  undecided.  I  have  hopes  that 
when  Mr.  St.  John  arrives  from  New  York,  he  will  get  them  re- 
placed on  their  monthly  system.  By-the-bye,  what  is  the  mean- 
ing of  a  very  angry  resolution  of  Congress  on  his  subject  ?  I 
have  it  not  by  me,  and  therefore  cannot  cite  it  by  date,  but  you 
will  remember  it,  and  oblige  me  by  explaining  its  foundation. 
This  will  be  handed  you  by  Mr.  Otto,  who  comes  to  America  as 
Charge  des  Affaires,  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Marbois,  promoted  to  the 


346  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Intendancy  of  Hispaniola,  which  office  is  next  to  that  of  Gov- 
ernor. He  becomes  the  head  of  the  civil,  as  the  Governor  is,  of 
the  military  department. 

I  am  much  pleased  with  Otto's  appointment;  he  is  good- 
humored,  affectionate  to  America,  will  see  things  in  a  friendly 
light  when  they  admit  of  it,  in  a  rational  one  always,  and  will 
not  pique  himself  on  writing  every  trifling  circumstance  of  irri- 
tation to  his  court.  I  wish  you  to  be  acquainted  with  him,  as  a 
friendly  intercourse  between  individuals  who  do  business  to- 
gether produces  a  mutual  spirit  of  accommodation  useful  to  both 
parties.  It  is  very  much  our  interest  to  keep  up  the  affection  of 
this  country  for  us,  which  is  considerable.  A  court  has  no  affec- 
tions; but  those  of  the  people  whom  they  govern  influence 
their  decisions,  even  in  the  most  arbitrary  governments. 

The  negotiations  between  the  Emperor  and  Dutch  are  spun 
out  to  an  amazing  length.  At  present  there  is  no  apprehension 
but  that  they  will  terminate  in  peace.  This  court  seems  to  press 
it  with  ardor,  and  the  Dutch  are  averse,  considering  the  terms 
cruel  and  unjust,  as  they  evidently  are.  The  present  delays, 
therefore,  are  imputed  to  their  coldness  and  to  their  forms.  In 
the  meantime,  the  Turk  is  delaying  the  demarcation  of  limits 
between  him  and  the  Emperor,  is  making  the  most  vigorous 
preparations  for  war,  and  has  composed  his  ministry  of  warlike 
characters,  deemed  personally  hostile  to  the  Emperor.  Thus 
time  seems  to  be  spinning  out,  both  by  the  Dutch  and  Turks, 
and  time  is  wanting  for  France.  Every  year's  delay  is  a  great 
thing  for  her.  It  is  not  impossible,  therefore,  but  that  she  may 
secretly  encourage  the  delays  of  the  Dutch,  and  hasten  the  prep- 
arations of  the  Porte,  while  she  is  recovering  vigor  herself,  also, 
in  order  to  be  able  to  present  such  a  combination  to  the  Empe- 
ror as  may  dictate  to  him  to  be  quiet.  But  the  designs  of  these 
courts  are  unsearchable.  It  is  our  interest  to  pray  that  this  coun- 
try may  have  no  continental  war  till  our  peace  with  England  is 
perfectly  settled.  The  merchants  of  this  country  continue  as 
loud  and  furious  as  ever  against  the  Arret  of  August,  1784,  per- 
mitting our  commerce  with  their  islands  to  a  certain  degree. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  347 

Many  of  them  have  actually  abandoned  their  trade.  The  min- 
istry are  disposed  to  be  firm ;  but  there  is  a  point  at  which  they 
will  give  way,  that  is,  if  the  clamors  should  become  such  as  to 
endanger  their  places.  It  is  evident  that  nothing  can  be  done  by 
us  at  this  time,  if  we  may  hope  it  hereafter.  I  like  your  re- 
moval to  New  York,  and  hope  Congress  will  continue  there,  and 
never  execute  the  idea  of  building  their  Federal  town.  Before 
it  could  be  finished,  a  change  of  members  in  Congress,  or  the 
admission  of  new  States,  would  remove  them  somewhere  else. 
It  is  evident  that  when  a  sufficient  number  of  the  western  States 
come  in,  they  will  remove  it  to  Georgetown.  In  the  meantime, 
it  is  our  interest  that  it  should  remain  where  it  is,  and  give  no 
new  pretensions  to  any  other  place.  I  am  also  much  pleased 
with  the  proposition  to  the  States  to  invest  Congress  with  the 
regulation  of  their  trade,  jeserving  its  revenue  to  the  States.  I 
think  it  a  happy  idea,  removing  the  only  objection  which  could 
have  been  justly  .made  to  the  proposition.  The  time,  too,  is  the 
present,  before  the  admission  of  the  western  States.  I  am  very 
differently  affected  towards  the  new  plan  of  opening  our  land 
office,  by  dividing  the  lands  among  the  States,  and  selling  them 
at  vendue.  It  separates  still  more  the  interests  of  the  States, 
which  ought  to  be  made  joint  in  every  possible  instance,  in  order 
to  cultivate  the  idea  of  our  being  one  nation,  and  to  multiply  the 
instances  in  which  the  people  shall  look  up  to  Congress  as  their 
head.  And  when  the  States  get  their  portions,  they  will  either 
fool  them  away,  or  make  a  job  of  it  to  serve  individuals.  Proofs 
of  both  these  practices  have  been  furnished,  and  by  either  of 
them  that  invaluable  fund  is  lost,  which  ought  to  pay  our  public 
debt.  To  sell  them  at  vendue,  is  to  give  them  to  the  bidders  of 
the  day,  be  they  many  or  few.  It  is  ripping  up  the  hen  which 
lays  golden  eggs.  If  sold  in  lots  at  a  fixed  price,  as  first  pro- 
posed, the  best  lots  will  be  sold  first ;  as  these  become  occupied, 
it  gives  a  value  to  the  interjacent  ones,  and  raises  them,  though 
of  inferior  quality,  to  the  price  of  the  first.  I  send  you  by  Mr. 
Otto  a  copy  of  my  book.  Be  so  good  as  to  apologize  to  Mr. 
Thompson  for  my  not  sending  him  one  by  this  conveyance.  I 


348  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

could  not  burthen  Mr.  Otto  with  more  on  so  long  a  road  as  that 
from  here  to  L'Orient.  I  will  send  him  one  by  a  Mr.  Williams, 
who  will  go  ere  long.  I  have  taken  measures  to  prevent  its  pub- 
lication. My  reason  is,  that  I  fear  the  terms  in  which  I  speak 
of  slavery,  and  of  our  constitution,  may  produce  an  irritation 
which  will  revolt  the  minds  of  our  countrymen  against  reforma- 
tion in  these  two  articles,  and  thus  do  more  harm  than  good.  I 
have  asked  of  Mr.  Madison  to  sound  this  matter  as  far  as  he  can, 
and,  if  he  thinks  it  will  not  produce  that  effect,  I  have  then  copies 
enough  printed  to  give  one  to  each  of  the  young  men  at  the  Col- 
lege, and  to  my  friends  in  the  country. 

I  am  sorry  to  see  a  possibility  of  *  *  *  being  put  into  the 
Treasury.  He  has  no  talents  for  the  office,  and  what  he  has, 
will  be  employed  in  rummaging  old  accounts  to  involve  you  in 
eternal  war  with  *  *  *  and  he  will,  in  a  short  time,  introduce 
such  dissensions  into  the  commission,  as  to  break  it  up.  If  he 
goes  on  the  other  appointment  to  Kaskaskia,  he  will  produce  a 
revolt  of  that  settlement  from  the  United  States.  I  thank  you 
for  your  attention  to  my  outfit.  For  the  articles  of  household 
furniture,  clothes,  and  a  carriage,  I  have  already  paid  twenty- 
eight  thousand  livres,  and  have  still  more  to  pay.  For  the  great- 
est part  of  this,  I  have  been  obliged  to  anticipate  my  salary, 
from  which,  however,  I  shall  never  be  able  to  repay  it.  I  find, 
that  by  a  rigid  economy,  bordering  however  on  meanness,  I  can 
save  perhaps  five  hundred  livres  a  month,  at  least  in  the  summer. 
The  residue  goes  for  expenses  so  much  of  course  and  of  neces- 
sity, that  I  cannot  avoid  them  without  abandoning  all  respect  to 
my  public  character.  Yet  I  will  pray  you  to  touch  this  string, 
which  I  know  to  be  a  tender  one  with  Congress,  with  the  ut- 
most delicacy.  I  had  rather  be  ruined  in  my  fortune  than  in 
their  esteem.  If  they  allow  me  half  a  year's  salary  as  an  outfit, 
I  can  get  through  my  debts  in  time.  If  they  raise  the  salary  to 
what  it  was,  or  even  pay  our  house  rent  and  taxes,  I  can  live 
with  more  decency.  I  trust  that  Mr.  Adams's  house  at  the 
Hague,  arid  Dr.  Franklin's  at  Passy,  the  rent  of  which  has  been 
always  allowed  him,  will  give  just  expectations  of  the  same  al- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  349 

lowance  to  me.     Mr.  Jay,  however,  did  not  charge  it,  but  he 
lived  economically  and  laid  up  money. 

I  will  take  the  liberty  of  hazarding  to  you  some  thoughts  on 
the  policy  of  enlering  into  treaties  with  the  European  nations, 
and  the  nature  of  them.  I  am  not  wedded  to  these  ideas,  and, 
herefore,  shall  relinquish  them  cheerfully  when  Congress  shall 
adopt  others,  and  zealously  endeavor  to  carry  theirs  into  effect. 
First,  as  to  the  policy  of  making  treaties.  Congress,  by  the 
Confederation,  have  no  original  and  inherent  power  over  the 
commerce  of  the  States.  But,by  the  9th  article,  we  are  author- 
ized to  enter  into  treaties  of  commerce.  The  moment  these 
treaties  are  concluded,  the  jurisdiction  of  Congress  over  the  com- 
merce of  the  States  springs  into  existence,  and  that  of  the  par- 
ticular States  is  superseded  so  far  as  the  articles  of  the  treaty 
may  have  taken  up  the  subject.  There  are  two  restrictions  only, 
on  the  exercise  of  the  power  of  treaty  by  Congress.  1st.  That 
they  shall  not,  by  such  treaty,  restrain  the  legislatures  of  the 
States  from  imposing  such  duties  on  foreigners,  as  their  own 
people  are  subject  to ;  nor  2dly,  from  prohibiting  the  exporta- 
tion or  importation  of  any  particular  species  of  goods.  Leaving 
these  two  points  free,  Congress  may,  by  treaty,  establish  any 
system  of  commerce  they  please  ;  but,  as  I  before  observed,  it  is 
by  treaty  alone  they  can  do  it.  Though  they  may  exercise 
their  other  powers  by  resolution  or  ordinance,  those  over  com- 
merce can  only  be  exercised  by  forming  a  treaty,  and  this  prob 
ably  by  an  accidental  wording  of  our  Confederation.  If,  there- 
fore, it  is  better  for  the  States  that  Congress  should  regulate 
their  commerce,  it  is  proper  that  they  should  form  treaties  with 
all  nations  with  whom  they  may  possibly  trade.  You  see  that 
my  primary  object  in  the  formation  of  treaties  is  to  take  the 
commerce  of  the  States  out  of  the  hands  of  the  States,  and  to 
place  it  under  the  superintendence  of  Congress,  so  far  as  the  im- 
perfect provisions  of  our  constitutions  will  admit,  and  until  the 
States  shall,  by  new  compact,  make  them  more  perfect.  I 
would  say,  then,  to  every  nation  on  earth,  by  treaty,  your  people 
shall  trade  freely  with  us,  and  ours  with  you,  paying  no  more 


350  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

than  the  most  favored  nation,  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  the 
right  of  individual  States,  acting  by  fits  and  starts,  to  interrupt 
our  commerce,  or  to  embroil  us  with  any  nation.  As  to  the 
terms  of  these  treaties,  the  question  becomes  more  difficult.  I 
will  mention  three  different  plans.  1.  That  no  duty  shall  be 
laid  by  either  party  on  the  productions  of  the  other.  2.  That 
each  may  be  permitted  to  equalize  their  duties  to  those  laid  by 
the  other.  3.  That  each  shall  pay  in  the  ports  of  the  other,  such 
duties  only  as  the  most  favored  nations  pay. 

1.  Were  the  nations  of  Europe  as  free  and  unembarrassed  of 
established  systems  as  we  are,  I  do  verily  believe  they  would 
concur  with  us  in  the  first  plan.     But  it  is  impossible.     These 
establishments  are  fixed  upon  them  ;  they  are  interwoven  with 
the  body  of  their  laws  and  the  organization  of  their  govern- 
ment, and  they  make  a  great  part  of  their  revenue  ;  they  cannot 
then,  get  rid  of  them. 

2.  The  plan  of  equal  imposts  presents  difficulties  insurmount- 
able.    For  how  are  the  equal  imposts  to  be  effected  ?     Is  it  by 
laying, in  the  ports  of  A.  an  equal  per  cent,  on  the  goods  of  B, 
with  that  which  B  has  laid  in  his  ports  on  the  goods  of  A  ?    But 
how  are  we  to  find  what  is  that  per  cent.  ?     For  this  is  not  the 
usual  form  of  imposts.     They  generally  pay  by  the  ton,  by  the 
measure,  by  the  weight,  and  not  by  the  value.     Besides,  if  A 
sends  a  million's  worth  of  goods  to  B,  and  takes  back  but  the 
half  of  that,  and  each  pays  the  same  per  cent.,  it  is  evident  that 
A  pays  the  double  of  what  he  recovers  in  the  same  way  from 
B :  this  would  be  our  case  with  Spain.     Shall  we  endeavor  to 
effect  equality,  then,  by  saying  A  may  levy  so  much  on  the  sum 
of  B's  importations  into  his  ports,  as  B  does  on  the  sum  of  A's 
importations  into  the  ports  of  B  ?     But  how  find  out  that  sum  ? 
Will  either  party  lay  open  their  custom-house  books  candidly  to 
evince  this  sum  ?     Does  either  keep  their  books  so  exactly  as  to 
be  able  to  do  it  ?     This  proposition  was  started   in  Congress 
when  our  instructions  were  formed,  as  you  may  remember^  and 
the  impossibility  of  executing  it  occasioned  it  to  be  disapproved. 
Besides,  who  should  have  a  right  of  deciding,  when  the  imposts 


CORRESPONDENCE.  351 

were  equal  ?  A  would  say  to  B,  my  imposts  do  not  raise  so 
much  as  yours  :  I  raise  them  therefore.  B  would  then  say,  you 
have  made  them  greater  than  mine,  I  will  raise  mine  ;  and  thus 
a  kind  of  auction  would  be  carried  on  between  them,  and  a  mu- 
tual irritation,  which  would  end  in  anything,  sooner  thbn  equal- 
ity and  right. 

3.  I  confess  then  to  you,  that  I  see  no  alternative  left  but  that 
which  Congress  adopted,  of  each  party  placing  the  other  on  the 
footing  of  the  most  favored  nation.  If  the  nations  of  Europe, 
from  their  actual  establishments,  are  not  at  liberty  to  say  to  Amer- 
ica, that  she  shall  trade  in  their  ports  duty  free,  they  may  say 
she  may  trade  there  paying  no  higher  duties  than  the  most  fav- 
ored nation  ;  and  this  is  valuable  in  many  of  these  countries, 
where  a  very  great  difference  is  made  between  different  nations. 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  the  execution  of  this  contract,  because 
there  is  not  a  merchant  who  does  not  know,  or  may  not  know, 
the  duty  paid  by  every  nation  on  every  article.  This  stipulation 
leaves  each  party  at  liberty  to  regulate  their  own  commerce  by 
general  rules,  while  it  secures  the  other  from  partial  and  oppress- 
ive discriminations.  The  difficulty  which  arises  in  our  case  is, 
with  the  nations  having  American  territory.  Access  to -the  West 
Indies  is  indispensably  necessary  to  us.  Yet  how  to  gain  it, 
when  it  is  the  established  system  of  these  nations  to  exclude  all 
foreigners  from  their  colonies.  The  only  chance  seems  to  be 
this  :  our  commerce  to  the  mother  country  is  valuable  to  them. 
We  must  endeavor,  then,  to  make  this  the  price  of  an  admission 
into  their  West  Indies,  and  to  those  who  refuse  the  admission, 
we  must  refuse  our  commerce,  or  load  theirs  by  odious  discrim- 
inations in  our  ports.  We  have  this  circumstance  in  our  favor 
too,  that  what  one  grants  us  in  their  islands,  the  others  will  not 
find  it  worth  their  while  to  refuse.  The  misfortune  is,  that  with 
this  country  we  gave  this  price  for  their  aid  in  the  war,  arid  we 
have  now  nothing  more  to  offer.  She,  being  withdrawn  from 
the  competition,  leaves  Great  Britain  much  more  at  liberty  to 
hold  out  against  us.  This  is  the  difficult  part  of  the  business  of 
treaty,  and  I  own  it  does  not  hold  out  the  most  flattering  prospects. 


352  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

I  wish  you  would  consider  this  subject,  and  write  me  your 
thoughts  on  it.  Mr.  Gerry  wrote  me  on  the  same  subject.  Will 
you  give  me  leave  to  impose  on  you  the  trouble  of  communicat- 
ing this  to  him  ?  It  is  long,  and  will  save  me  much  labor  in 
copying.  I  hope  he  will  be  so  indulgent  as  to  consider  it  as  an 
answer  to  that  part  of  his  letter,  and  will  give  me  his  further 
thoughts  on  it. 

Shall  I  send  you  so  much  of  the  Encyclopedia  as  is  already 
published,  or  reserve  it  here  till  you  come  ?  It  is  about  forty 
volumes,  which  probably  is  about  half  the  work.  Give  yourself 
no  uneasiness  about  the  money  ;  perhaps  I  may  find  it  conve- 
nient to  ask  you  to  pay  trifles  occasionally  for  me  in  America. 
I  sincerely  wish  you  may  find  it  convenient  to  come  here  ;  the 
pleasure  of  the  trip  will  be  less  than  you  expect,  but  the  utility 
greater.  It  will  make  you  adore  your  own  country,  its  soil,  its 
climate,  its  equality,  liberty,  laws,  people,  and  manners.  My 
God !  how  little  do  my  countrymen  know  what  precious  bless- 
ings they  are  in  possession  of,  and  which  no  other  people  on  earth 
enjoy.  I  confess  I  had  no  idea  of  it  myself.  While  we  shall 
see  multiplied  instances  of  Europeans  going  to  live  in  America, 
I  will  venture  to  say,  no  man  now  living  will  ever  see  an  instance 
of  an  American  removing  to  settle  in  Europe,  and  continuing 
there.  Come,  then,  and  see  the  proofs  of  this,  and  on  your  re- 
turn add  your  testimony  to  that  of  every  thinking  American,  in 
order  to  satisfy  our  countrymen  how  much  it  is  their  interest  to 
preserve,  uninfected  by  contagion,  those  peculiarities  in  their  gov- 
ernments and  manners,  to  which  they  are  indebted  for  those 
blessings.  Adieu,  my  dear  friend  ;  present  me  affectionately  to 
your  colleagues.  If  any  of  them  think  me  worth  writing  to, 
they  may  be  assured  that  in  the  epistolary  account  I  will  keep 
the  debit  side  against  them.  Once  more,  adieu. 

Yours  affectionately. 


P.  S.  June  19.     Since,  writing  the  above,  we  have  received 
the  following  account :  Monsieur  Pilatre  de  Roziere,  who  had 


CORRESPONDENCE.  353 

been  waiting  for  some  months  at  Boulogne  for  a  fair  wind  to  cross 
the  channel,  at  length  took  his  ascent  with  a  companion.  The 
wind  changed  after  awhile,  and  brought  him  back  on  the  French 
coast.  Being  at  a  height  of  about  six  thousand  feet,  some  acci- 
dent happened  to  his  balloon  of  inflammable  air ;  it  burst,  they 
fell  from  that  height,  and  were  crashed  to  atoms.  There  was  a 
Montgolfier  combined  with  the  balloon  of  inflammable  air.  It 
is  suspected  the  heat  of  the  Montgolfier  rarefied  too  much  the  in- 
flammable air  of  the  other,  and  occasioned  it  to  burst.  The  Mont- 
golfier came  down  in  good  order. 


TO    JOSEPH    JONES. 

PARIS,  June  19,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  take  the  liberty  of  enclosing  to  you  a  state  of 
the  case  of  one  Poison,  and  begging  your  inquiries  and  information 
whether  the  lands  therein  mentioned  have  been  escheated  and 
sold,  and,  if  they  have,  what  would  be  the  proper  method  of  ap- 
plication to  obtain  a  compensation  for  them. 

The  negotiations  between  Holland  and  the  Emperor  are  slow, 
but  will  probably  end  in  peace.  It  is  believed  the  Emperor  will 
not  at  present  push  the  Bavarian  exchange.  The  Porte  delays 
the  demarcation  of  limits  with  him,  and  is  making  vigorous  prep- 
arations for  war.  But  neither  will  this  latter  be  permitted  to  pro- 
duce a  war,  if  France  can  prevent  it,  because,  wherever  the  Em- 
peror is  seeking  to  enlarge  his  dominions,  France  will  present  to 
him  the  point  of  a  bayonet.  But  she  wishes  extremely  for  repose, 
and  has  need  of  it.  She  is  the  wealthiest  but  worst  governed 
country  on  earth ;  and  her  finances  utterly  unprepared  for  war. 
We  have  need  to  pray  for  her  repose,  and  that  she  may  not  be 
engaged  in  a  continental  war  while  our  matters  with  Great  Britain 
are  so  unsettled  and  so  little  like  being  settled. 

An  accident  has  happened  here  which  will  probably  damp  the 

ardor  with  which  aerial  navigation  has  been  pursued.     Monsieur 
VOL.  i.  23 


354  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Pilatre  de  Roziere  had  been  attending  many  months  at  Boulogne 
a  fair  wind  to  cross  the  channel  in  a  balloon  which  was  com- 
pounded of  one  of  inflammable  air,  and  another  called  a  Mont- 
golfier  with  rarefied  air  only.  He  at  length  thought  the  wind 
fair  and  with  a  companion  ascended.  After  proceeding  a  proper 
direction  about  two  leagues,  the  wind  changed  and  brought  them 
again  over  the  French  coast.  Being  at  the  height  of  about  six 
thousand  feet,  some  accident,  unknown,  burst  the  balloon  of  in- 
flammable air,  and  the  Montgolfier  being  unequal  alone  to  sustain 
their  weight,  they  precipitated  from  that  height  to  the  earth,  and 
were  crushed  to  atoms.  Though  navigation  by  water  is  attended 
with  frequent  accidents,  and  in  its  infancy  must  have  been  at- 
tended with  more,  yet  these  are  now  so  familiar  that  we  think 
little  of  them,  while  that  which  has  signalized  the  two  first  mar- 
tyrs to  the  aeronautical  art  will  probably  deter  very  many  from 
the  experiments  they  would  have  been  disposed  to  make.  Will 
you  give  me  leave  to  hope  the  pleasure  of  hearing  from  you  some- 
times. The  details  from  my  own  country  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  legislative,  executive  and  judiciary  bodies,  and  even  those 
which  respect  individuals  only,  are  the  most  pleasing  treat  we  can 
receive  at  this  distance,  and  the  most  useful  also.  I  will  promise 
in  return  whatever  may  be  interesting  to  you  here. 
I  am,  with  very  perfect  esteem,  Sir, 

Your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    CHARLES    THOMPSON. 

PARIS,  June  21,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  of  March  the  6th,  has  come  duly  to 
hand.  You  therein  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  mine  of  Novem- 
ber the  llth  ;  at  that  time  you  could  not  have  received  my  last, 
of  February  the  8th.  At  present  there  is  so  little  new  in  politics, 
literature,  or  the  arts,  that  I  write  rather  to  prove  to  you  my  de- 
sire of  nourishing  your  correspondence,  than  of  being  able  to 


CORRESPONDENCE.  355 

give  you  my  thing  interesting  at  this  time.  The  political  world 
is  almost  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  lethargic  state  of  the  Dutch  nego- 
tiation, which  will  probably  end  in  peace.  Nor  does  this  court 
profess  to  apprehend  that  the  Emperor  will  involve  this  hemi- 
sphere in  war  by  his  schemes  on  Bavaria  and  Turkey.  The 
arts,  instead  of  advancing,  have  lately  received  a  check,  which 
will  probably  render  stationary  for  awhile,  that  branch  of  them 
which  had  promised  to  elevate  us  to  the  skies.  Pilatre  de  Roziere, 
who  had  first  ventured  into  that  region,  has  fallen  a  sacrifice  to 
it.  In  an  attempt  to  pass  from  Boulogne  over  to  England,  a 
change  in  the  wind  having  brought  him  back  on  the  coast  of 
France,  some  accident  happened  to  his  balloon  of  inflammable 
air,  which  occasioned  it  to  burst,  and  that  of  rarefied  air  combined 
with  it  being  then  unequal  to  the  weight,  they  fell  to  the  earth 
from  a  height,  which  the  first  reports  made  six  thousand  feet,  but 
later  ones  have  reduced  to  sixteen  hundred.  Pilatre  de  Roziere 
was  dead  when  a  peasant,  distant  one  hundred  yards  only,  ran  to 
him ;  but  Romain,  his  companion,  lived  about  ten  minutes,  though 
speechless,  and  without  his  senses.  In  literature  there  is  nothing 
new.  For  I  do  not  consider  as  having  added  anything  to  that 
field  my  own  Notes,  of  which  I  have  had  a  few  copies  printed. 
I  will  send  you  a  copy  by  the  first  safe  conveyance.  Having 
troubled  Mr.  Otto  with  one  for  Colonel  Monroe,  I  could  riot 
charge  him  with  one  for  you.  Pray  ask  the  favor  of  Colonel 
Monroe,  in  page  5,  line  17,  to  strike  out  the  words,  "  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Appamattox,"  which  makes  nonsense  of  the  pas- 
sage •  and  I  forgot  to  correct  it  before  I  had  enclosed  and  sent  off 
the  copy  to  him.  I  am  desirous  of  preventing  the  reprinting 
this,  should  any  book  merchant  think  it  worth  it,  till  I  hear  from 
my  friends,  whether  the  terms  in  which  I  have  spoken  of  slavery 
and  the  constitution  of  our  State,  will  not,  by  producing  an  irri- 
tation, retard  that  reformation  which  I  wish,  instead  of  promoting 
it.  Dr.  Franklin  proposes  to  sail  for  America  about  the  first  or 
second  week  of  July.  He  does  not  yet  know,  however,  by  what 
conveyance  he  can  go.  Unable  to  travel  by  land,  he  must  de- 
scend the  Seine  in  a  boat  to  Havre.  He  has  sent  to  England  to 


356  JEFFEKSON'S    WOKKS. 

get  some  vessel  bound  for  Philadelphia,  to  touch  at  Havre  for 
him.  But  he  receives  information  that  this  cannot  be  done.  He 
has  been  on  the  look  out  ever  since  he  received  his  permission  to 
return ;  but,  as  yet,  no  possible  means  of  getting  a  passage  have 
offered,  and  I  fear  it  is  very  uncertain  when  any  will  offer. 
I  am,  with  very  great  esteem,  dear  Sir, 

Your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  June  23,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — My  last  to  you  was  of  the  2d  instant,  since  which 
I  have  received  yours  of  the  3d  and  7th.  I  informed  you  in 
mine  of  the  substance  of  our  letter  to  Baron  Thulemeyer :  last 
night  came  to  hand  his  acknowledgment  of  the  receipt  of  it. 
He  accedes  to  the  method  proposed  for  signing,  and  has  for- 
warded our  dispatch  to  the  King.  I  enclose  you  a  copy  of  our 
letter  to  Mr.  Jay,  to  go  by  the  packet  of  this  month.  It  con- 
tains a  state  of  our  proceedings  since  the  preceding  letter,  which 
you  had  signed  with  us.  This  statement  contains  nothing  but 
what  you  had  concurred  with  us  in  ;  and,  as  Dr.  Franklin  ex- 
pects to  go  early  in  July  to  America,  it  is  probable  that  the  future 
letters  must  be  written  by  you  and  myself.  I  shall,  therefore, 
take  care  that  you  be  furnished  with  copies  of  everything  which 
comes  to  hand  on  the  joint  business. 

What  has  become  of  this  Mr.  Lambe  ?  I  am  uneasy  at  the 
delay  of  that  business,  since  we  know  the  ultimate  decision  of 
Congress.  Dr.  Franklin,  having  a  copy  of  the  Corps  Diplomat- 
ique, has  promised  to  prepare  a  draught  of  a  treaty  to  be  offered 
to  the  Barbary  States :  as  soon  as  he  has  done  so,  we  will  send 
it  to  you  for  your  corrections.  We  think  it  will  be  best  to  have 
it  in  readiness  against  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Lambe,  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  he  may  be  addressed  to  the  joint  ministers  for  instruc- 
tions. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  357 

I  asked  the  favor  of  you  in  my  last,  to  choose  two  of  the  best 
London  papers  for  me  ;  one  of  each  party.  The  Duke  of  Dorset 
has  given  me  leave  to  have  them  put  under  his  address,  and  sent 
to  the  office  from  which  his  despatches  come.  I  think  he  called 
it  Cleveland  office,  or  Cleveland  lane,  or  by  some  such  name ; 
however,  I  suppose  it  can  be  easily  known  there.  Will  Mr. 
Stockdale  undertake  to  have  these  papers  sent  regularly,  or  is 
this  out  of  the  line  of  his  business  ?  Pray  order  me,  also,  any 
really  good  pamphlets  that  come  out  from  time  to  time,  which 
he  will  charge  to  me. 

I  am,  with  great  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    M.     DU    PORT  AIL. 

PARIS,  June  27,  1786. 

SIR, — I  had  the  honor  of  informing  you  some  time  ago  that 
I  had  written  to  the  Board  of  Treasury  on  the  subject  of  the  ar- 
rearages of  interest  due  to  the  foreign  officers,  and  urging  the 
necessity  of  paying  them.  I  now  enclose  the  extract  of  a  letter 
which  I  have  just  received  from  them,  and  by  which  you  will 
perceive  that  their  funds  were  not  in  a  condition  for  making  that 
payment  in  the  moment  of  receiving  my  letter,  but  that  they 
would  be  attentive  to  make  it  in  the  first  moment  it  should  be  in 
their  power.  There  is  still  a  second  letter  of  mine  on  the  way 
to  them,  on  the  same  subject,  which  will  again  press  for  exer- 
tions in  this  business,  which,  however,  I  am  satisfied  they  will 
not  fail  to  do  their  utmost  in.  It  will  give  me  real  pleasure  to 
inform  you  of  effectual  provision  for  this  purpose  in  the  first  mo- 
ment possible,  being  with  sentiments  of  esteem  and  respect,  Sir, 
your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


358  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO    COLONEL    MONROE. 

PARIS,  July  5,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  you  by  Mr.  Adams,  May  the  llth,  ana 
by  Mr.  Otto,  June  the  17th.  The  latter  acknowledged  the  re- 
ceipt of  yours  of  April  the  12th,  which  is  the  only  one  come  to 
hand  of  later  date  than  December  the  14th.  Little  has  occurred 
since  my  last.  Peace  seems  to  show  herself  under  a  more 
decided  form.  The  Emperor  is  now  on  a  journey  to  Italy,  and 
the  two  Dutch  Plenipotentiaries  have  set  out  for  Vienna ;  there 
to  make  an  apology  for  their  State  having  dared  to  fire  a  gun  in 
defence  of  her  invaded  rights  :  this  is  insisted  on  as  a  preliminary 
condition.  The  Emperor  seems  to  prefer  the  glory  of  terror  to 
that  of  justice  ;  and,  to  satisfy  this  tinsel  passion,  plants  a  dagger 
in  the  heart  of  every  Dutchman  which  no  time  will  extract.  I 
enquired  lately  of  a  gentleman  who  lived  long  at  Constantinople, 
in  a  public  character,  and  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  that  govern- 
ment, insomuch  as  to  become  well  acquainted  with  its  spirit  and 
its  powers,  what  he  thought  might  be  the  issue  of  the  present  affair 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  Porte.  He  thinks  the  latter  will 
not  push  matters  to  a  war  ;  and,  if  they  do,  they  must  fail  undei 
it.  They  have  lost  their  warlike  spirit,  and  their  troops  cannot 
be  induced  to  adopt  the  European  arms.  We  have  no  news  yet 
of  Mr.  Lambe  ;  of  course,  our  Barbary  proceedings  are  still  at  a 
stand.* 

Yours  Affectionately. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  July  7,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — This  will  accompany  a  joint  letter  enclosing  the 
draft  of  a  treaty,  and  my  private  letter  of  June  23d,  which  has 

[*  The   remainder  of  this  letter  is  in  cypluy    to  which  there  is  no  key  in  the 
Editor's  possession.] 


CORRESPONDENCE.  359 

waited  so  long  for  a  private  conveyance.  We  daily  expect  from 
the  Baron  Thulemeyer  the  French  column  for  our  treaty  with 
his  sovereign.  In  the  meanwhile,  two  copies  are  preparing  with 
the  English  column,  which  Dr.  Franklin  wishes  to  sign  before 
his  departure,  which  will  be  within  four  or  five  days.  The 
French,  when  received,  will  be  inserted  in  the  blank  columns  of 
each  copy.  As  the  measure  of  signing  at  several  times  and 
places  is  new,  we  think  it  necessary  to  omit  no  other  circum- 
stance of  ceremony  which  can  be  observed.  That  of  sending  it 
by  a  person  of  confidence,  and  invested  with  a  character  relative 
to  the  object,  who  shall  attest  our  signatures  here,  yours  in  Lon- 
don, and  Baron  Thulemeyer's  at  the  Hague,  and  who  shall  make 
the  actual  exchanges,  we  think  will  contribute  to  supply  the  de- 
parture from  the  usual  form,  in  other  instances.  For  this  reason, 
we  have  agreed  to  send  Mr.  Short  on  this  business,  to  make  him 
a  secretary  pro  hac  vice,  and  to  join  Mr.  Dumas  for  the  operations 
of  exchange,  &c.  As  Dr.  Franklin  will  have  left  us  before  Mr. 
Short's  mission  will  commence,  and  I  have  never  been  concerned 
in  the  ceremonials  of  a  treaty,  I  will  thank  you  for  your  imme- 
diate information  as  to  the  papers  he  should  be  furnished  with 
from  hence.  He  will  repair  first  to  you  in  London,  thence  to 
the  Hague,  and  then  return  to  Paris. 

What  has  become  of  Mr.  Lambe  ?  Supposing  he  was  to  call 
on  the  commissioners  for  instructions,  and  thinking  it  best  these 
should  be  in  readiness,  Dr.  Franklin  undertook  to  consult  well 
the  Barbary  treaties  with  other  nations,  and  to  prepare  a  sketch 
which  we  should  have  sent  for  your  correction.  He  tells  me  he 
has  consulted  those  treaties,  and  made  references  to  the  articles 
proper  for  us,  which,  however,  he  will  not  have  time  to  put  into 
form,  but  will  leave  them  with  me  to  reduce.  As  soon  as  I  see 
them,  you  shall  hear  from  me.  A  late  conversation  with  an 
English  gentleman  here  makes  me  believe,  what  I  did  not  be- 
lieve before,  that  his  nation  thinks  seriously  that  Congress  have 
no  power  to  form  a  treaty  of  commerce.  As  the  explanations 
of  this  matter,  which  you  and  I  may  separately  give,  may  be 
handed  to  their  minister,  it  would  be  well  that  they  should  agree. 


360  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

For  this  reason,  as  well  as  for  the  hope  of  your  showing  me 
wherein  I  am  wrong,  and  confirming  me  where  I  am  right,  I  will 
give  you  my  creed  on  the  subject.  It  is  contained  in  these  four 
principles.  By  the  Confederation,  Congress  have  no  power  given 
them,  in  the  first  instance,  over  the  commerce  of  the  States. 
But  they  have  a  power  given  them  of  entering  into  treaties  of 
commerce,  and  these  treaties  may  cover  the  whole  field  of  com- 
merce, with  two  restrictions  only.  1.  That  the  States  may  im- 
pose equal  duties  on  foreigners  as  natives  :  and  2.  That  they  may 
prohibit  the  exportation  or  importation  of  any  species  of  goods 
whatsoever.  When  they  shall  have  entered  into  such  treaty,  the 
superintendence  of  it  results  to  them  ;  all  the  operations  of  com- 
merce, which  are  protected  by  its  stipulations,  come  under  their 
jurisdiction,  and  the  power  of  the  States  to  thwart  them  by  their 
separate  acts,  ceases.  If  Great  Britain  asks,  then,  why  she 
should  enter  into  any  treaty  with  us?  why  not  carry  on  her 
commerce  without  treaty  ?  I  answer ;  because,  till  a  treaty  is 
made,  no  consul  of  hers  can  be  received  (his  functions  being 
called  into  existence  by  a  convention  only,  and  the  States  hav- 
ing abandoned  the  right  of  separate  agreements  and  treaties) ; 
no  protection  to  her  commerce  can  be  given  by  Congress  ;  no 
cover  to  it  from  those  checks  and  discouragements  with  which 
the  States  will  oppress  it,  acting  separately,  and  by  fits  and 
starts.  That  they  will  act  so  till  a  treaty  is  made  Great  Britain 
has  had  several  proofs ;  and  I  am  convinced  those  proofs  will  be- 
come general.  It  is,  then,  to  put  her  commerce  with  us  on  system- 
atical ground,  and  under  safe  cover,  that  it  behoves  Great 
Britain  to  enter  into  treaty.  As  I  own  to  you  that  my  wish  to 
enter  into  treaties  with  the  other  powers  of  Europe  arises  more 
from  a  desire  of  bringing  all  our  commerce  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  Congress,  than  from  any  other  views.  Because,  according  to 
my  idea,  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  with  those  countries, 
not  under  treaty  with  us,  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  each  State 
separately  ;  but  that  of  the  countries,  which  have  treated  with  us, 
is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Congress,  with  the  two  fundamental 
restraints  only,  which  I  hav  •  b^^ore  noted. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  361 

I  shall  be  happy  to  receive  your  corrections  of  these  ideas,  as 
I  have  found,  in  the  course  of  our  joint  services,  that  I  think 
right  when  I  think  with  you. 

I  am,  with  sincere  affection,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


P.  S.  Monsieur  Houdon  has  agreed  to  go  to  America  to  take 
the  figure  of  General  Washington.  In  case  of  his  death,  between 
his  departure  from  Paris,  and  his  return  to  it,  we  may  lose  twenty 
thousand  livres.  I  ask  the  favor  of  you  to  enquire  what  it  will 
cost  to  ensure  that  sum,  on  his  life,  in  London,  and  to  give  me  as 
early  an  answer  as  possible,  that  I  may  order  the  insurance  if  I 
think  the  terms  easy  enough.  He  is,  I  believe,  between  thirty 
and  thirty-five  years  of  age,  healthy  enough,  and  will  be  absent 
about  six  months. 


TO    M.    DE    CASTRIES. 

PARIS,  July  10th,  1785. 

SIR, — I  am  honored  with  your  Excellency's  letter  on  the  prize 
money  for  which  Mr.  Jones  applies.  The  papers  intended  to 
have  been  therein  enclosed,  not  having  been  actually  enclosed,  I 
am  unable  to  say  anything  on  their  subject.  But  I  find  that 
Congress,  on  the  first  day  of  November,  1783,  recommended 
Captain  Jones  to  their  Minister  here,  as  agent,  to  solicit, under  his 
direction,  payment  to  the  officers  and  crews  for  the  prizes  taken 
in  Europe  under  his  command ;  requiring  him  previously  to  give 
to  their  superintendent  of  finance  good  security  for  paying  to 
him  whatever  he  should  receive,  to  be  by  him  distributed  to 
those  entitled.  In  consequence  of  this,  Captain  Jones  gave  the 
security  required,  as  is  certified  by  the  superintendent  of  finance 
on  the  6th  of  November,  1783,  and  received  from  Doctor  Frank- 
lin on  the  17th  of  December,  1783,  due  authority,  as  agent,  to 
solicit  the  said  payments. 

From  these  documents,  I  consider  Captain  Jones  as  agent 
for  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  interested  in  the  prizes 


362  JEFFEKSON'S    WOEKS. 

taken  in  Europe  under  his  command,  and  that  he  is  properly  au- 
thorized to  receive  the  money  due  to  them,  having  given  good 
security  to  transmit  it  to  the  treasury  office  of  the  United  States, 
whence  it  will  be  distributed,  under  the  care  of  Congress,  to  the 
officers  and  crews  originally  entitled,  or  to  their  representatives. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant, 


TO    MESSRS.    FRENCH    AND    NEPHEW. 

PARIS,  July  13th,  1785. 

GENTLEMEN, — I  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  letter  of  June 
the  21st,  enclosing  one  from  Mr.  Alexander  of  June  the  17th, 
and  a  copy  of  his  application  to  Monsieur  de  Calonnes.  I  am 
very  sensible  that  no  trade  can  be  on  a  more  desperate  footing 
than  that  of  tobacco,  in  this  country ;  and  that  our  merchants 
must  abandon  the  French  markets,  if  they  are  not  permitted  to 
sell  the  productions  they  bring,  on  such  terms  as  will  enable 
them  to  purchase  reasonable  returns  in  the  manufactures  of 
France.  '•  I  know  but  one  remedy  to  the  evil ;  that  of  allowing 
a  free  vent ;  and  I  should  be  very  happy  in  being  instrumental  to 
the  obtaining  this.  But,  while  the  purchase  of  tobacco  is  monop- 
olized by  a  company,  and  they  pay  for  that  monopoly  a  heavy 
price  to  the  government,  they  doubtless  are  at  liberty  to  fix  such 
places  and  terms  of  purchase,  as  may  enable  them  to  make  good 
their  engagements  with  government.  I  see  no  more  reason  for 
obliging  them  to  give  a  greater  price  for  tobacco  than  they  think 
they  can  afford,  than  to  do  the  same  between  two  individuals 
treating  for  a  horse,  a  house,  or  anything  else.  Could  this  be 
effected  by  applications  to  the  minister,  it  would  only  be  a  pallia- 
tive which  would  retard  the  ultimate  cure,  so  much  to  be  wished 
for  and  aimed  at  by  every  friend  to  this  country,  as  well  as  to 
America. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  hum- 
ble servant, 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


TO    DR.    STYLES. 

PARIS,  July  17,  1785. 

SIR, — I  have  long  deferred  doing  myself  the  honor  of  writing 
to  you,  wishing  for  an  opportunity  to  accompany  my  letter  with 
a  copy  of  the  Bibliothcque  Physico-ceconomique  ;  a  book  pub- 
lished here  lately  in  four  small  volumes,  and  which  gives  an  ac- 
count of  all  the  improvements  in  the  arts  which  have  been  made 
for  some  years  past.  I  flatter  myself  you  will  find  in  it  many 
things  agreeable  and  useful.  I  accompany  it  with  the  volumes 
of  the  "  Connoisance  des  Terns"  for  the  years  1781,  1784,  1785, 
1786,  1787.  But  why,  you  will  ask,  do  I  send  you  old  alman- 
acs, which  are  proverbially  useless  ?  Because,  in  these  publica- 
tions have  appeared,  from  time  to  time,  some  of  the  most  pre- 
cious things  in  astronomy.  I  have  searched  out  those  particulai 
volumes  which  might  be  valuable  to  you  on  this  account. 
That  of  1781,  contains  de  la  Caille's  catalogue  of  fixed  stars 
reduced  to  the  commencement  of  that  year,  and  a  table  of  the 
aberrations  and  nutations  of  the  principal  stars.  1784  contain* 
the  same  catalogue  with  the  nebuleuses  of  Messier.  1785  con 
tains  the  famous  catalogue  of  Hamsteed,  with  the  positions  of 
the  stars  reduced  to  the  beginning  of  the  year  1784,  and  which 
supersedes  the  use  of  that  immense  book.  1786  gives  you 
Euler's  lunar  tables  corrected  ;  and  1787,  the  tables  for  the  planet 
Herschel.  The  two  last  needed  not  an  apology,  as  not  being 
within  the  description  of  old  almanacs.  It  is  fixed  on  grounds 
which  scarcely  admit  a  doubt  that  the  planet  Herschel  was  seen 
by  Mayer  in  the  year  1756,  and  was  considered  by  him  as  one 
of  the  zodiacal  stars,  and,  as  such,  arranged  in  his  catalogue, 
being  the  964th  which  he  describes.  This  964th  of  Mayer  has 
been  since  missing,  and  the  calculations  for  the  planet  Herschel 
show  that  it  should  have  been,  at  the  time  of  Mayer's  observa- 
tion, where  he  places  his  964th  star.  The  volume  of  1787 
gives  you  Mayer's  catalogue  of  the  zodiacal  stars.  The  re- 
searches of  the  natural  philosophers  of  Europe  seem  mostly  in 
the  field  of  chemistry,  and  here,  principally,  on  the  subjects  of 


364  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

air  and  fire.  The  analysis  of  these  two  subjects,  presents  to  us 
very  new  ideas.  When  speaking  of  the  "  Bibliothcque  Physico- 
oeconomique,"  I  should  have  observed,  that  since  its  publication, 
a  man  in  this  city  has  invented  a  method  of  moving  a  vessel  on 
the  water,  by  a  machine  worked  within  the  vessel.  I  went  to 
see  it.  He  did  not  know  himself  the  principle  of  his  own  inven- 
tion. It  is  a  screw  with  a  very  broad  thin  worm,  or  rather  it  is 
a  thin  plate  with  its  edge  applied  spirally  round  an  axis.  This 
being  turned,  operates  on  the  air,  as  a  screw  does,  and  may  be 
literally  said  to  screw  the  vessel  along  ;  the  thinness  of  the  me- 
dium, and  its  want  of  resistance,  occasion  a  loss  of  much  of  the 
force.  The  screw,  I  think,  would  be  more  effectual  if  placed 
below  the  surface  of  the  water.  I  very  much  suspect  that  a 
countryman  of  ours,  Mr.  Bushnel  of  Connecticut,  is  entitled  to 
the  merit  of  a  prior  discovery  of  this  use  of  the  screw.  I  re- 
member to  have  heard  of  his  submarine  navigation  during  the 
war,  and,  from  what  Colonel  Humphreys  now  tells  me,  I  con- 
jecture that  the  screw  was  the  power  he  used.  He  joined  to 
this  a  machine  for  exploding  under  water  at  a  given  moment. 
If  it  were  not  too  great  a  liberty  for  a  stranger  to  take,  I  would 
ask  from  him  a  narration  of  his  actual  experiments,  with  or  with- 
out a  communication  of  his  principle,  as  he  should  choose.  If 
he  thought  proper  to  communicate  it,  I  would  engage  never  to 
disclose  it,  unless  I  could  find  an  opportunity  of  doing  it  for  his 
benefit.  I  thank  you  for  your  information  as  to  the  great  bones 
found  on  the  Hudson  river.  I  suspect  that  they  must  have  been 
of  the  same  animal  with  those  found  on  the  Ohio ;  and,  if  so, 
they  could  not  have  belonged  to  any  human  figure,  because 
they  are  accompanied  with  tusks  of  the  size,  form  and  sub- 
stance, of  those  of  the  elephant.  I  have  seen  a  part  of  the  ivory, 
which  was  very  good.  The  animal  itself  must  have  been  much 
larger  than  an  elephant.  Mrs.  Adams  gives  me  an  account  of  a 
flower  found  in  Connecticut,  which  vegetates  when  suspended 
in  the  air.  She  brought  one  to  Europe.  What  can  be  this 
flower  ?  It  would  be  a  curious  present  to  this  continent. 

The  accommodation  likely  to  take  place  between  the  Dutch 


CORRESPONDENCE.  365 

and  the  Emperor,  leaves  us  without  that  unfortunate  resource 
for  news,  which  wars  give  us.  The  Emperor  has  certainly  had 
in  view  the  Bavarian  exchange  of  which  you  have  heard ;  but 
so  formidable  an  opposition  presented  itself,  that  he  has  thought 
proper  to  disavow  it.  The  Turks  show  a  disposition  to  go  to 
war  with  him,  but,  if  this  country  can  prevail  on  them  to  remain 
in  peace,  they  will  do  so.  It  has  been  thought  that  the  two 
Imperial  courts  have  a  plan  of  expelling  the  Turks  from  Europe. 
It  is  really  a  pity  so  charming  a  country  should  remain  in  the 
hands  of  a  people,  whose  religion  forbids  the  admission  of 
science  and  the  arts  among  them.  We  should  wish  success  to 
the  object  of  the  two  empires,  if  they  meant  to  leave  the  coun- 
try in  possession  of  the  Greek  inhabitants.  We  might  then  ex- 
pect, once  more,  to  see  the  language  of  Homer  and  Demos- 
thenes a  living  language.  For  I  am  persuaded  the  modern 
Greel£"would  easily  get  back  to  its  classical  models.  But  this  is 
-not  intended.  They  only  propose  to  put  the  Greeks  under  other 
masters  :  to  substitute  one  set  of  barbarians  for  another. 

Colonel  Humphreys,  having  satisfied  you  that  all  attempts 
would  be  fruitless  here  to  obtain  money  or  other  advantages  for 
your  college,  I  need  add  nothing  on  that  head.  It  is  a  method 
of  supporting  colleges  of  which  they  have  no  idea,  though  they 
practice  it  for  the  support  of  their  lazy  monkish  institutions. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect  and  esteem, 
Sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  July  28,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favors  of  July  the  16th  and  18th,  came  to 
hand  the  same  day  on  which  I  had  received  Baron  Thule- 
meyer's  enclosing  the  ultimate  draught  for  the  treaty.  As  this 
draught,  which  was  in  French,  was  to  be  copied  into  the  two 
instruments  which  Dr.  Franklin  had  signed,  it  is  finished  this 


366  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

day  only.  Mr.  Short  sets  out  immediately.  I  have  put  into  his 
hands  a  letter  of  instructions  how  to  conduct  himself,  which  I 
have  signed,  leaving  a  space  above  for  your  signature.  The 
two  treaties  I  have  signed  at  the  left  hand,  Dr.  Franklin  having 
informed  me  that  the  signatures  are  read  backwards.  Besides 
the  instructions  to  Mr.  Short,  I  signed  also  a  letter  to  Mr.  Dumas, 
associating  him  with  Mr.  Short.  These  two  letters  I  made  out 
as  nearly  conformably  as  I  could  to  your  ideas  expressed  in  your 
letter  of  the  18th.  If  anything  more  be  necessary,  be  so  good 
as  to  make  a  separate  instruction  for  them  signed  by  yourself,  to 
which  I  will  accede.  I  have  not  directed  Mr.  Dumas's  letter. 
I  have  heretofore  directed  to  him  as  "  Agent  for  the  United  States 
at  the  Hague,"  that  being  the  descriptiori  under  which  the  jour- 
nals of  Congress  speak  of  him.  In  his  last  letter  to  me,  is  a 
paragraph  from  which  I  conclude  that  the  address  I  have  used 
is  not  agreeable,  and  perhaps  may  be  wrong.  Will  you  be  so 
good  as  to  address  the  letter  to  him,  and  to  inform  me  how  to 
address  him  hereafter  ?  Mr.  Short  carries  also  the  other  papers 
necessary.  His  equipment  for  his  journey  requiring  expenses 
which  cannot  come  into  the  account  of  ordinary  expenses,  such 
as  clothes,  &c.,  what  allowance  should  be  made  him  ?  I  have 
supposed  somewhere  between  a  guinea  a  day,  and  one  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  which  I  believe  is  the  salary  of  a  private  secretary. 
This  I  mean  as  over  and  above  his  travelling  expenses.  Be  so 
good  as  to  say,  and  I  will  give  him  an  order  on  his  return. 
The  danger  of  robbery,  has  induced  me  to  furnish  him  with 
only  money  enough  to  carry  him  to  London.  You  will  be  so 
good  as  to  procure  him  enough  to  carry  him  to  the  Hague,  and 
back  to  Paris. 

The  confederation  of  the  King  of  Prussia  with  some  members 
of  the  Germanic  body,  for  the  preservation  of  their  constitution, 
is,  I  think,  beyond  a  doubt.  The  Emperor  has  certainly  com- 
plained of  it  in  formal  communications  at  several  courts.  By 
what  can  be  collected  from  diplomatic  conversation  here,  I  also 
conclude  it  tolerably  certain,  that  the  Elector  of  Hanover  has 
been  invited  to  accede  to  the  confederation,  and  has  done,  or  is 


CORRESPONDENCE.  367 

doing  so.  You  will  have  better  circumstances,  however,  on  the 
spot,  to  form  a  just  judgment.  Our  matters  with  the  first  of 
these  powers  being  now  in  conclusion,  I  wish  it  was  so  with 
the  Elector  of  Hanover.  I  conclude,  from  the  general  express- 
ions in  your  letter,  that  little  may  be  expected.  Mr.  Short  fur- 
nishing so  safe  a  conveyance  that  the  trouble  of  the  cypher  may 
be  dispensed  with,  I  will  thank  you  for  such  details  of  what  has 
passed,  as  may  not  be  too  troublesome  to  you. 

The  difficulties  of  getting  books  into  Paris  delayed  for  some 
time  my  receipt  of  the  Corps  diplomatique  left  by  Dr.  Franklin. 
Since  that, we  have  been  engaged  with  expediting  Mr.  Short. 
A  huge  packet  also,  brought  by  Mr.  Mazzei,  has  added  to  the 
causes  which  have  as  yet  prevented  me  from  examining  Dr. 
Franklin's  notes  on  the  Barbary  treaty.  It  shall  be  one  of  my 
first  occupations.  Still  the  possibility  is  too  obvious  that  we 
may  run  counter  to  the  instructions  of  Congress,  of  which  Mr. 
Lambe  is  said  to  be  the  bearer.  There  is  a  great  impatience  in 
America  for  these  treaties.  I  am  much  distressed  between  this 
impatience  and  the  known  will  of  Congress,  on  .the  one  hand, 
and  the  uncertainty  of  the  details  committed  to  this  tardy  ser- 
vant. 

The  Duke  of  Dorset  sets  out  for  London  to-morrow.  He 
says  he  shall  be  absent  two  months.  There  is  some  whisper 
that  he  will  not  return,  and  that  Lord  Carmarthen  wishes  to 
come  here.  I  am  sorry  to  lose  so  honest  a  man  as  the  Duke.  I 
take  the  liberty  to  ask  an  answer  about  the  insurance  of  Hou- 
don's  life. 

Congress  is  not  likely  to  adjourn  this  summer.  They  have 
passed  an  ordinance  for  selling  their  lands.  I  have  not  received 
it. 

What  would  you  think  of  the  enclosed  draught  to  be  proposed 
to  the  courts  of  London  and  Versailles?  I  would  add  Madrid 
and  Lisbon,  but  that  they  are  still  more  desperate  than  the  others. 
I  know  it  goes  beyond  our  powers,  and  beyond  the  powers  of 
Congress  too  ;  but  it  is  so  evidently  for  the  good  of  all  the  States, 
that  I  should  not  be  afraid  to  risk  myself  on  it,  if  you  are  of  the 


368  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

same  opinion.  Consider  it,  if  you  please,  and  give  me  your 
thoughts  on  it  by  Mr.  Short ;  but  I  do  not  communicate  it  to  him, 
nor  any  other  mortal  living  but  yourself. 

Be  pleased  to  present  me  in  the  most  friendly  terms  to  the  ladies, 
and  believe  me  to  be,  with  great  esteem, 

Dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    THE    BARON    DE  THULEMEYER. 

PARIS,  July  28,  1785. 

SIR, — 1  was  honored  with  the  receipt  of  your  letter  on  the 
24th  instant,  together  with  the  French  draught  of  the  treaty 
proposed.  As  it  ultimately  meets  his  Majesty's  approbation,  Dr. 
Franklin,  our  colleague,  having  assisted  us  through  the  progress 
of  this  business,  we  were  desirous  he  also  should  join  in  the  ex- 
ecution. Duplicate  instruments  were  therefore  prepared,  each 
divided  into  two  columns,  in  one  of  which  we  entered  the  Eng- 
lish form  as  it  has  been  settled  between  us,  leaving  the  other 
blank  to  receive  the  French,  which  we  expected  from  you.  In 
this  state  the  Doctor,  before  his  departure,  put  his  signature  and 
seal  to  the  two  instruments.  We  have  since  put  into  the  blank 
column  the  French  form  received  from  you  verbatim.  As  we 
thought  that  such  instruments  should  not  be  trusted  out  of  con- 
fidential hands,  and  the  bearer  thereof,  William  Short,  Esq., 
heretofore  a  member  of  the  Council  of  State  in  Virginia,  hap- 
pened to  be  in  Paris,  and  willing  to  give  us  his  assistance  herein, 
they  are  delivered  into  his  hands  with  other  necessary  papers, 
according  to  an  arrangement  previously  made  between  Mr.  Ad- 
ams, Dr.  Franklin  and  myself.  He  will  proceed  to  London  to 
obtain  Mr.  Adams's  signature,  and  thence  to  the  Hague,  where 
we  have,  according  to  your  desire,  associated  Mr.  Dumas  with 
him  to  concur  with  you  in  the  final  execution.  It  is  with  sin- 
gular pleasure  I  see  this  connection  formed  by  my  country  with 
a  sovereign  whose  character  gives  a  lustre  to  all  the  transactions 


CORRESPONDENCE.  369 

of  which  he  makes  part.  Give  me  leave  to  recommend  Mr. 
Short  to  your  notice.  His  talents  and  merits  are  such  as  to  have 
placed  him,  young  as  he  is,  \n  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
of  Virginia,  an  office  which  he  relinquished  to  visit  Europe. 
The  letter  to  Baron  Steuben  shall  be  taken  care  of. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect, 
Sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO  MESSRS.  N.  AND  j.  VAN  STAPHORST   Amsterdam. 

PARIS,  July  30,  1785. 

GENTLEMEN, — I  received  yesterday  your  favor  of  the  25th. 
Supposing  that  the  funds  which  are  the  object  of  your  enquiry, 
are  those  which  constitute  what  we  call  our  domestic  debt,  it  is 
my  opinion  that  they  are  absolutely  secure  :  I  have  no  doubt  at 
all  but  that  they  will  be  paid,  with  their  interest  at  six  per  cent. 
But  I  cannot  say  that  they  are  as  secure  and  solid  as  the  funds 
which  constitute  our  foreign  debt ;  because  no  man  in  America 
ever  entertained  a  doubt  that  our  foreign  debts  is  to  be  paid  fully ; 
but  some  people  in  America  have  seriously  contended,  that  the 
certificates,  and  other  evidences  of  our  domestic  debt,  ought  to 
be  redeemed  only  at  what  they  have  cost  the  holder ;  for  I  must 
observe  to  you,  that  these  certificates  of  domestic  debt,  having 
as  yet  no  provision  for  the  payment  of  principal  or  interest,  and 
the  original  holders  being  mostly  needy,  have  been  sold  at  a  very 
great  discount.  When  I  left  America  (July,  1784, )  they  sold,  in  dif- 
ferent States,  at  from  15s.  to  2s.  6d.  in  the  pound ;  arid  any  amount 
of  them  might  then  have  been  purchased.  Hence  some  thought 
that  full  justice  would  be  done,  if  the  public  paid  the  purchasers 
of  them  what  they  actually  paid  for  them,  and  interest  on  that. 
But  this  is  very  far  from  being  a  general  opinion ;  a  very  great 
majority  being  firmly  decided  that  they  shall  be  paid  fully.  Were 
I  the  holder  of  any  of  them,  I  should  not  have  the  least  fear  of 
their  full  payment.  There  is  also  a  difference  between  different 
VOL.  i.  24 


370  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

species  of  certificates ;  some  of  them  being  receivable  in  taxes, 
others  having  the  benefit  of  particular  assurances,  &c.  Again, 
some  of  these  certificates  are  for  paper  money  debts.  A  decep- 
tion here  must  be  guarded  against.  Congress  ordered  all  such  to 
be  re-settled  by  the  depreciation  tables,  and  a  new  certificate  to 
be  given  in  exchange  for  them,  expressing  their  value  in  real 
money.  But  all  have  not  yet  been  re-settled.  In  short,  this  is 
a  science  in  which  few  in  America  are  expert,  and  no  person  in  a 
foreign  country  can  be  so.  Foreigners  should  therefore  be  sure 
that  they  are  well  advised,  before  they  meddle  with  them,  or  they 
may  suffer.  If  you  will  reflect  with  what  degree  of  success  per- 
sons actually  in  America  could  speculate  in  the  European  funds, 
which  rise  and  fall  daily,  you  may  judge  how  far  those  in  Eu- 
rope may  do  it  in  the  American  funds,  which  are  more  variable 
from  a  variety  of  causes. 

I  am  not  at  all  acquainted  with  Mr.  Daniel  Parker,  further 
than  having  once  seen  him  in  Philadelphia.  He  is  of  Massa- 
chusetts, I  believe,  and  I  am  of  Virginia.  His  circumstances  are 
utterly  unknown  to  me.  I  think  there  are  few  men  in  America, 
if  there  is  a  single  one,  who  could  command  a  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds'  sterling  worth  of  these  notes,  at  their  real  value. 
At  their  nominal  amount,  this  might  be  done  perhaps  with  twen- 
ty-five thousand  pounds  sterling,  if  the  market  price  of  them  be 
as  low  as  when  I  left  America. 

I  am,  with  very  great  respect,  Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient 
humble  servant. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  July  31,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  was  honored  yesterday  with  yours  of  the  24th 
instant.  When  the  first  article  of  our  instructions  of  May  7th, 
1784,  was  under  debate  in  Congress,  it  was  proposed  that  neither 
party  should  make  the  other  pay,  in  their  ports,  greater  duties, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  371 

than  they  paid  in  the  ports  of  the  other.  One  objection  to  this 
was,  its  impracticability ;  another,  that  it  would  put  it  out  of  our 
power  to  lay  such  duties  on  alien  importation  as  might  encourage 
importation  by  natives.  Some  members,  much  attached  to  Eng- 
lish policy,  thought  such  a  distinction  should  actually  be  estab- 
lished. Some  thought  the  power  to  do  it  should  be  reserved,  in 
case  any  peculiar  circumstances  should  call  for  it,  though  under 
the  present,  or,  perhaps,  any. probable  circumstances,  they  did 
not  think  it  would  be  good  policy  ever  to  exercise  it.  The  foot- 
ing gentis  amicissimcB,  was  therefore  adopted,  as  you  see  in  the 
instruction.  As  far  as  my  enquiries  enable  me  to  judge,  France 
and  Holland  make  no  distinction  of  duties  between  aliens  and 
natives.  I  also  rather  believe  that  the  other  States  of  Europe 
make  none,  England  excepted,  to  whom  this  policy,  as  that  of 
her  navigation  act,  seems  peculiar.  The  question  then  is,  should 
we  disarm  ourselves  of  the  power  to  make  this  distinction  against 
all  nations,  in  order  to  purchase  an  exception  from  the  alien  du- 
ties in  England  only ;  for  if  we  put  her  importations  on  the  foot- 
ing of  native,  all  other  nations  with,  whom  we  treat  will  have  a 
right  to  claim  the  same.  I  think  we  should,  because  against 
other  nations,who  make  no  distinction  in  their  ports  between  us 
and  their  own  subjects,  we  ought  not  to  make  a  distinction  in 
ours.  And  if  the  English  will  agree,  in  like  manner,  to  make 
none,  we  should,  with  equal  reason,  abandon  the  right  as  against 
them.  I  think  all  the  world  would  gain,  by  setting  commerce 
at  perfect  liberty.  I  remember  that  when  we  were  digesting 
the  general  form  of  our  treaty,  this  proposition  to  put  foreigners 
and  natives  on  the  same  footing  was  considered  ;  and  we  were 
all  three,  Dr.  Franklin  as  well  as  you  and  myself,  in  favor  of  it. 
We  finally,  however,  did  not  admit  it,  partly  from  the  objection 
you  mention,  but  more  still  on  account  of  our  instructions.  But 
though  the  English  proclamation  had  appeared  in  America  at  the 
time  of  framing  these  instructions,  I  think  its  effect,  as  to  alien 
duties,  had  not  yet  been  experienced,  and  therefore  was  not  at- 
tended to.  If  it  had  been  noted  in  the  debate,  I  am  sure  that  the 
annihilation  of  our  whole  trade  would  have  been  thought  too 


372  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

great  a  price  to  pay  for  the  reservation  of  a  barren  power,  which 
a  majority  of  the  members  did  not  propose  ever  to  exercise, 
though  they  were  willing  to  retain  it.  Stipulating  for  equal 
rights  to  foreigners  and  natives,  we  obtain  more  in  foreign  ports 
than  our  instructions  required,  and  we  only  part  with,  in  our 
own  ports,  a  power  of  which  sound  policy  would  probably  for- 
ever forbid  the  exercise.  Add  to  this,  that  our  treaty  will  be  for 
a  very  short  term,  and  if  any  evil  be  experienced  under  it,  a  re- 
formation will  soon  be  in  our  power.  I  am,  therefore,  for  putting 
this  among  our  original  propositions  to  the  court  of  London. 

If  it  should  prove  an  insuperable  obstacle  with  them,  or  if  it 
should  stand  in  the  way  of  a  greater  advantage,  we  can  but  aban- 
don it  in  the  course  of  the  negotiation. 

In  my  copy  of  the  cypher,  on  the  alphabetical  side,  numbers 
are  wanting  from  "  Denmark"  to  "  disc"  inclusive,  and  from 
"  gone"  to  "  governor"  inclusive.  I  suppose  them  to  have  been 
omitted  in  copying  ;  will  you  be  so  good  as  to  send  them  to  me 
from  yours,  by  the  first  safe  conveyance  ? 

With  compliments  to  the  ladies,  and  to  Colonel  Smith, 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant.* 


TO    MR.    \VM.    SHORT. f 

July,  1785. 

SIR, — A  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce  between  the  United 
States  of  America  and  his  majesty  the  King  of  Prussia  having 
been  arranged  with  the  Baron  de  Thulemeyer,  his  majesty's  en- 
voy extraordinary  at  the  Hague,  specially  empowered  for  this 

[*  The  original  of  this  letter  was  in  cypher.  But  annexed  to  the  copy  iu  cypher, 
is  the  above  literal  copy  by  the  author.] 

[f  Mr.  Short  was  Mr.  Jefferson's  private  secretary.  The  propositions  of  our  min- 
isters for  commercial  treaties,  were  received  with  coldness  by  all  the  European  pow- 
ers except  Prussia,  Denmark,  and  Tuscany.  Frederick  met  their  propositions  cor- 
dially, and  a  treaty  was  soon  concluded  with  his  minister  at  the  Hague.  With  Den- 
mark and  Tuscany  our  own  ministers,  from  considerations  of  policy,  protracted  the 
negotiations  until  their  powers  expired. — ED.] 


CORRESPONDENCE.  373 

purpose,  and  it  being  inconsistent  with  our  other  duties  to  repair 
to  that  place  ourselves  for  the  purpose  of  executing  and  exchang- 
ing the  instruments  of  treaty,  we  hereby  appoint  you  special 
secretary  for  that  purpose. 

You  receive  from  Colonel  Humphries,  secretary  of  our  lega- 
tion, the  original  of  our  full  powers,  and  a  copy  of  the  same  at- 
tested by  him,  heretofore  communicated  to  us  by  the  Baron  de 
Thulemeyer,  and  the  two  instruments  of  treaty  awarded  between 
us,  each  in  two  columns,  the  one  in  English  and  the  other  in 
French,  equally  originals.  From  us  you  receive  a  letter  to 
Charles  Dumas,  Esq.,  for  the  United  States  at  the 

Hague,  associating  him  with  you  in  the  object  of  your  mission. 

You  will  proceed  immediately  to  the  Hague,  and  being  arrived 
there,  will  deliver  the  letter  to  Mr.  Dumas,  and  proceed  conjunct- 
ly  with  him  in  the  residue  of  your  business,  which  is  to  be  exe- 
cuted there. 

The  original  of  our  full  powers  is  to  be  exhibited  to  the  pleni- 
potentiary of  his  majesty  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  the  attested 
copy  is  to  be  left  with  him,  you  taking  back  the  original.  You 
will  in  like  manner  ask  an  exhibition  of  the  original  of  his  full 
powers,  and  also  a  copy  duly  attested  :  you  will  compare  the  copy 
with  the  original,  and,  being  satisfied  of  its  exactness,  you  will 
return  the  original  and  keep  the  copy.  That  you  may  be  under 
no  doubt  whether  the  full  powers  exhibited  to  you  be  sufficient 
or  not,  you  receive  from  Colonel  Humphries  those  which  the 
Baron  de  Thulemeyer  heretofore  sent  to  us  ;  if  those  which 
shall  be  exhibited  agree  with  these  in  form  or  substance,  they 
will  be  sufficient. 

The  full  powers  being  approved  on  each  side  and  exchanged, 
you  will  obtain  the  signature  and  seal  of  the  Prussian  plenipo- 
tentiary to  the  two  instruments  of  treaty  with  which  you  are 
charged,  and  yourself  and  Mr.  Dumas  will  attest  the  same.  One 
of  these  original  instruments  will  remain  in  the  hands  of  the 
Prussian  plenipotentiary,  the  other  you  will  retain. 

You  will  ask  that  the  ratification  of  his  majesty  the  King  of 
Prussia  be  made  known  to  us  as  soon  as  it  shall  have  taken 


374  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

place,  giving  an  assurance  on  our  part  that  that  of  Congress  shall 
also  be  communicated  as  soon  as  it  shall  have  taken  place  ; 
when  both  ratifications  shall  be  known,  measures  may  be  con- 
certed for  exchanging  them.  You  will  confer  with  the  said 
plenipotentiary  on  the  expediency  of  keeping  this  treaty  uncom- 
municated  to  the  public  until  the  exchange  of  ratifications  agree 
accordingly. 

You  will  then  return  to  Paris,  and  redeliver  to  the  secretary 
of  our  legation,  our  original  full  powers,  the  copies  of  those  of 
Prussia  before-mentioned,  and  the  original  instrument  of  the 
treaty  which  you  shall  have  retained. 


TO    M.    DE    CASTRIES. 

PARIS,  August  8,  1785. 

SIR, — The  enclosed  copy  of  a  letter  from  Captain  John  Paul 
Jones,  on  the  subject  on  which  your  Excellency  did  me  the  honor 
to  write  me,  on  the  day  of  July,  will  inform  you  that  there  is 
still  occasion  to  be  troublesome  to  you.  A  Mr.  Puchilberg,  a 
merchant  of  L'Orient,  who  seems  to  have  kept  himself  unknown 
till  money  was  to  be  received,  now  presents  powers  to  receive  it, 
signed  by  the  American  officers  and  crews ;  and  this  produces  a 
hesitation  in  the  person  to  whom  your  order  was  directed.  Con- 
gress, however,  having  substituted  Captain  Jones,  as  agent,  to 
solicit  and  receive  this  money,  he  having  given  them  security  to 
forward  it,  when  received,  to  their  treasury,  to  be  thence  distrib- 
uted to  the  claimants,  and  having  at  a  considerable  expense  of 
time,  trouble,  and  money,  attended  it  to  a  conclusion,  are  circum- 
stances of  weight,  against  which  Mr.  Puchilberg  seems  to  have 
nothing  to  oppose,  but  a  nomination  by  individuals  of  the  crew, 
under  which  he  has  declined  to  act,  and  permitted  the  business 
to  be  done  by  another  without  contradiction  from  him.  Against 
him,  too,  it  is  urged  that  he  fomented  the  sedition  which  took 
place  among  them ;  that  he  obtained  this  nomination  from  them 
while  their  minds  were  under  ferment ;  and  that  he  has  given 


COKEESPONDENCE.  375 

no  security  for  the  faithful  payment  of  the  money  to  those  en- 
titled to  it. 

I  will  add  to  these,  one  more  circumstance  which  appears  to 
render  it  impossible  that  he  should  execute  this  trust.  It  is  now 
several  years  since  the  right  to  this  money  arose.  The  persons 
in  whom  it  originally  vested  were  probably  from  different  States 
in  America.  Many  of  them  must  be  now  dead ;  and  their  rights 
passed  on  to  their  representatives.  But  who  are  their  representa- 
tives ?  The  laws  of  some  States  prefer  one  degree  of  relations, 
those  of  others  prefer  another,  there  being  no  uniformity  among 
the  States  on  this  point.  Mr.  Puchilberg,  therefore,  should  know 
which  of  the  parties  are  dead ;  in  what  order  the  laws  of  their 
respective  States  call  their  relations  to  the  succession ;  and,  in 
every  case,  which  of  those  orders  are  actually  in  existence,  and 
entitled  to  the  share  of  the  deceased.  With  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
between  the  principals  and  their  substitute,  your  Excellency  will 
perceive  what  an  inexhaustible  source  of  difficulties,  of  chicanery, 
and  delay,  this  might  furnish  to  a  person  who  should  find  an  in- 
terest in  keeping  this  money,  as  long  as  possible,  in  his  own 
hands.  Whereas,  if  it  be  lodged  in  the  treasury  of  Congress, 
they,  by  an  easy  reference  to  the  tribunals  of  the  different  States, 
can  have  every  one's  portion  immediately  rendered  to  himself,  if 
living ;  and  if  dead,  to  such  of  his  relations  as  the  laws  of  his 
particular  State  prefer,  and  as  shall  be  found  actually  living.  I 
the  rather  urge  this  course,  as  I  foresee  that  it  will  relieve  your 
Excellency  from  numberless  appeals,  which  these  people  will 
continually  be  making  from  the  decisions  of  Mr.  Puchilberg ; 
appeals  likely  to  perpetuate  that  trouble  of  which  you  have  al- 
ready had  too  much,  and  to  which  I  am  sorry  to  be  obliged  to 
add,  by  asking  a  peremptory  order  for  the  execution  of  what 
you  were  before  pleased  to  decide  on  this  subject. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  most  perfect 
respect,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  ser- 
vant. 


376  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARFS,  August  6,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  now  enclose  you  a  draught  of  a  treaty  for  the 
Barbary  States,  together  with  the  notes  Dr.  Franklin  left  me.  I 
have  retained  a  press  copy  of  this  draught,  so  that  by  referring 
to  any  article,  line  and  word,  in  it,  you  can  propose  amendments, 
and  send  them  by  the  post,  without  anybody's  being  able  to 
make  much  of  the  main  subject.  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  any 
alterations  you  may  think  necessary,  as  soon  as  convenient,  that 
this  matter  may  be  in  readiness.  I  enclose  also  a  letter  contain- 
ing intelligence  from  Algiers.  I  know  not  how  far  it  is  to  be  re- 
lied on.  My  anxiety  is  extreme  indeed,  as  to  these  treaties.  We 
know  that  Congress  have  decided  ultimately  to  treat.  We  know 
how  far  they  will  go.  But  unfortunately  we  know  also,  that  a 
particular  person  has  been  charged  with  instructions  for  us,  these 
five  months,  who  neither  comes  nor  writes  to  us.  What  are  we 
to  do  ?  It  is  my  opinion,  that  if  Mr.  Lambe  does  not  come  in 
either  of  the  packets  (English  or  French)  now  expected,  we 
ought  to  proceed.  I  therefore  propose  to  you  this  term,  as  the 
end  of  our  expectations  of  him,  and  that  if  he  does  not  come, 
we  send  some  other  person.  Dr.  Bancroft  or  Captain  Jones  oc- 
curs to  me  as  the  fittest.  If  we  consider  the  present  object  only, 
I  think  the  former  would  be  the  most  proper ;  but  if  we  look 
forward  to  the  very  probable  event  of  war  with  those  pirates,  an 
important  object  would  be  obtained  by  Captain  Jones'  becoming 
acquainted  with  their  ports,  force,  tactics,  &c.  Let  me  know 
your  opinion  on  this.  I  have  never  mentioned  it 'to  either,  but  1 
suppose  either  might  be  induced  to  go.  Present  me  affectionately 
to  the  ladies  and  Colonel  Smith,  and  be  assured  of  the  sincerity 
with  which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    DR.    PRICE. 

PARIS,  August  7,  17S5. 

SIR, — Your  favor  of  July  the  2d  came  duly  to  hand.     The 
concern  you  therein  express  as  to  the  effect  of  your  pamphlet  in 


CORRESPONDENCE.  377 

America,  induces  me  to  trouble  you  with  some  observations  on 
that  subject. 

Prom  my  acquaintance  with  that  country,  I  think  I  am  able 
to  judge,  with  some  degree  of  certainty,  of  the  manner  in  which 
it  will  have  been  received.  Southward  of  the  Chesapeake,  it 
will  find  but  few  readers  concurring  with  it  in  sentiment,  on  the 
subject  of  slavery.  From  the  mouth  to  the  head  of  the  Chesa- 
peake, the  bulk  of  the  people  will  approve  it  in  theory,  and  it 
will  find  a  respectable  minority  ready  to  adopt  it  in  practice ;  a 
minority,  which  for  weight  and  worth  of  character,  preponder- 
ates against  the  greater  number,  who  have  not  the  courage  to 
divest  their  families  of  a  property,  which,  however,  keeps  their 
conscience  unquiet.  Northward  of  the  Chesapeake,  you  may 
find,  here  and  there,  an  opponent  to  your  doctrine,  as  you  may 
find,  here  and  there,  a  robber  and  murderer ;  but  in  no  greater 
number.  In  that  part  of  America,  there  being  but  few  slaves, 
they  can  easily  disencumber  themselves  of  them ;  and  emancipa- 
tion is  put  into  such  a  train,  that  in  a  few  years  there  will  be  no 
slaves  northward  of  Maryland.  In  Maryland,  I  do  not  find  such 
a  disposition  to  begin  the  redress  of  this  enormity,  as  in  Virginia. 
This  is  the  next  State  to  which  we  may  turn  our  eyes  for  the  in- 
teresting spectacle  of  justice,  in  conflict  with  avarice  and  oppress- 
ion ;  a  conflict  wherein  the  sacred  side  is  gaining  daily  recruits, 
from  the  influx  into  office  of  young  men  grown,  and  growing 
up.  These  have  sucked  in  the  principles  of  liberty,  as  it  were, 
with  their  mother's  milk ;  and  it  is  to  them  I  look  with  anxiety 
to  turn  the  fate  of  this  question.  Be  not  therefore  discouraged. 
What  you  have  written  will  do  a  great  deal  of  good ;  and  could 
you  still  trouble  yourself  with  our  welfare,  no  man  is  more  able 
to  give  aid  to  the  laboring  side.  The  College  of  William  and 
Mary,  in  Williamsburg,  since  the  re-modelling  of  its  plan,  is  the 
place  where  are  collected  together  all  the  young  men  of  Virginia, 
under  preparation  for  public  life.  They  are  there  under  the 
direction  (most  of  them)  of  a  Mr.  Wythe,  one  of  the  most  vir- 
tuous of  characters,  and  whose  sentiments  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  are  unequivocal.  I  am  satisfied,  if  you  could  resolve  to 


378  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

address  an  exhortation  to  those  young  men,  with  all  that  elo- 
quence of'  which  you  are  master,  that  its  influence  on  the  future 
decision  of  this  important  question  would  he  great,  perhaps  deci- 
sive. Thus  you  see,  that,  so  far  from  thinking  you  have  cause 
to  repent  of  what  you  have  done,  I  wish  you  to  do  more,  and 
wish  it,  on  an  assurance  of  its  effect.  The  information  I  have 
received  from  America,  of  the  reception  of  your  pamphlet  in  the 
different  States,  agrees  with  the  expectations  I  had  formed. 

Our  country  is  getting  into  a  ferment  against  yours,  or  rather 
has  caught  it  from  yours.  God  knows  how  this  will  end ;  hut 
assuredly  in  one  extreme  or  the  other.  There  can  be  no  medium 
between  those  who  have  loved  so  much.  I  think  the  decision  is 
in  your  power  as  yet,  but  will  not  be  so  long. 

I  pray  you  to  be  assured  of  the  sincerity  of  the  esteem  and 
respect  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  most 
obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  August  10,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  of  the  4th  instant  came  to  hand  yes- 
terday. I  now  enclose  you  the  two  Arrets  against  the  importa- 
tion of  foreign  manufactures  into  this  kingdom.  The  cause  of 
the  balance  against  this  country,  in  favor  of  England,  as  well  as 
its  amount,  is  not  agreed  on.  No  doubt  the  rage  for  English 
manufactures  must  be  a  principal  cause.  The  speculators  in  ex- 
change say  also  that  those  of  the  circumjacent  countries  who 
have  a  balance  in  their  favor  against  France, /emit  that  balance 
to  England  from  France.  If  so,  it  is  possible  that  the  English 
may  count  this  balance  twice  ;  that  is,  in  summing  their  exports 
to  one  of  these  States,  and  their  imports  from  it,  they  count  the 
difference  once  in  their  favor,  then  a  second  time  when  they 
sum  the  remittances  of  cash  they  receive  from  France.  There 
has  been  no  Arret  relative  to  our  commerce  since  that  of  August, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  379 

1784.  And  all  the  late  advices  from  the  French  West  Indies 
are,  that  they  have  now  in  their  ports  always  three  times  as 
many  vessels  as  there  ever  were  before,  and  that  the  increase  is 
principally  from  our  States.  I  have  now  no  further  fears  of  that 
Arrefs  standing  its  ground.  When  it  shall  become  firm,  I  do 
not  think  its  extension  desperate.  But  whether  the  placing  it  on 
the  firm  basis  of  treaty  be  practicable,  is  a  very  different  ques- 
tion. As  far  as  it  is  possible  to  judge  from  appearances,  I  con- 
jecture that  Crawford  will  do  nothing.  I  infer  this  from  some 
things  in  his  conversation,  and  from  an  expression  of  the  Count 
de  Vergennes  in  a  conversation  with  me  yesterday.  I  pressed 
upon  him  the  importance  of  opening  their  ports  freely  to  us  in 
the  moment  of  the  oppressions  of  the  English  regulations  against 
us,  and  perhaps  of  the  suspension  of  their  commerce.  He  ad- 
mitted it,  but  said  we  had  free  ingress  with  our  productions.  I 
enumerated  them  to  him,  and  showed  him  on  what  footing  they 
were,  and  how  they  might  be  improved.  We  are  to  have  further 
conversations  on  the  subject.  I  am  afraid  the  voyage  to  Fon- 
tainebleau  will  interrupt  them.  From  the  inquiries  I  have  made, 
I  find  I  cannot  get  a  very  small  and  indifferent  house  there  for 
the  season,  (that  is,  for  a  month,)  for  less  than  one  hundred  or 
one  hundred  and  fifty  guineas.  This  is  nearly  the  whole  salary 
for  the  time,  and  would  leave  nothing  to  eat.  I  therefore  can- 
not accompany  the  court  thither,  but  I  will  endeavor  to  go  there 
occasionally  from  Paris.  They  tell  me  it  is  the  most  favorable 
scene  for  business  with  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  because  he  is 
then  more  abstracted  from  the  domestic  applications.  Count 
d'Aranda  is  not  yet  returned  from  the  waters  of  Vichy.  As  soon 
as  he  returns,  I  will  apply  to  him  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Watson.  I 
will  pray  you  to  insure  Houdon's  life  from  the  27th  of  last 
month  till  his  return  to  Paris.  As  he  was  to  stay  in  America  a 
month  or  two,  he  will  probably  be  about  six  months  absent ;  but 
the  three  per  cent,  for  the  voyage  being  once  paid,  I  suppose 
thay  will  insure  his  life  by  the  month,  whether  his  absence  be 
longer  or  shorter.  The  sum  to  be  insured  is  fifteen  thousand 
livres  tournois.  If  it  be  not  necessary  to  pay  the  money  imme- 


380  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

diately,  there  is  a  prospect  of  exchange  becoming  more  favora- 
ble. But  whenever  it  is  necessary,  be  so  good  as  to  procure  it 
by  selling  a  draft  on  Mr.  Grand,  which  I  will  take  care  shall  be 
honored.  With  compliments  to  the  ladies, 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO  JOHN  JAY. 

PAUIS,  August  14,  1785. 

SIR, — I  was  honored,  on  the  22d  ultimo,  with  the  receipt  of 
your  letter  of  June  the  15th  ;  and  delivered  the  letter  therein  en- 
closed, from  the  President  of  Congress  to  the  King.  I  took  an 
opportunity  of  asking  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  whether  the  Chev- 
alier Luzerne  proposed  to  return  to  America  ?  He  answered  me 
that  he  did ;  and  that  he  was  here,  for  a  time  only,  to  arrange  his 
private  affairs.  Of  course,  this  stopped  my  proceeding  further, 
in  compliance  with  the  hint  in  your  letter.  I  knew  that  the 
Chevalier  Luzerne  still  retained  the  character  of  minister  to  Con- 
gress, which  occasioned  my  premising  the  question  I  did.  But, 
notwithstanding  the  answer,  which  indeed  was  the  only  one  the 
Count  de  Vergennes  could  give  me,  I  believe  it  is  not  expected 
that  the  Chevalier  will  return  to  America :  that  he  is  waiting  an 
appointment  here,  to  some  of  their  embassies,  or  some  other  pro- 
motion, and  in  the  meantime,  as  a  favor,  is  permitted  to  retain 
his  former  character.  Knowing  the  esteem  borne  him  in  America, 
I  did  not  suppose  it  would  be  wished  that  I  should  add  anything 
which  might  occasion  an  injury  to  him  ;  and  the  rather,  as  I  pre- 
sumed that  at  this  time,  there  did  not  exist  the  same  reason  for 
wishing  the  arrival  of  a  minister  in  America,  which,  perhaps, 
existed  there  at  the  date  of  your  letter.  Count  Adhemar  is  just 
arrived  from  London,  on  account  of  a  paralytic  disease  with 
which  he  has  been  struck.  It  does  not  seem  improbable  that 
his  pla.ce  will  be  supplied,  and  perhaps  by  the  Chevalier  de  la 
Luzerne. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  381 

A  French  vessel  has  lately  refused  the  salute  to  a  British  armed 
vessel  in  the  channel.  The  charge  des  affaires  of  Great  Britain, 
at  this  court,  (their  ambassador  having  gone  to  London  a  few  days 
ago,)  made  this  the  subject  of  a  conference  with  the  Count  de 
Vergennes,  on  Tuesday  last.  He  told  me  that  the  Count  ex- 
plained the  transaction  as  the  act  of  the  individual  master  of  the 
French  vessel,  not  founded  in  any  public  orders.  His  earnest- 
ness, and  his  endeavors  to  find  terms  sufficiently  soft  to  express 
the  Count's  explanation,  had  no  tendency  to  lessen  any  doubts  I 
might  have  entertained  on  this  subject.  I  think  it  possible  the 
refusal  may  have  been  by  order :  nor  can  I  believe  that  Great 
Britain  is  in  a  condition,  to  resent  it,  if  it  was  so.  In  this  case, 
we  shall  see  it  repeated  by  France  ;  and  her  example  will  then 
be  soon  followed  by  other  nations.  The  news-writers  bring  to- 
gether this  circumstance,  with  the  departure  of  the  French  am- 
bassador from  London,  and  the  English  ambassador  from  Paris,  the 
manoeuvring  of  a  French  fleet  just  off  the  channel,  the  collecting 
some  English  vessels  of  war  in  the  channel,  the  failure  of  a  com- 
mercial treaty  between  the  two  countries,  and  a  severe  Arret  here 
against  English  manufactures,  as  foreboding  war.  It  is  possible 
that  the  fleet  of  manoBuvre,  the  refusal  of  the  salute,  and  the  Eng- 
lish fleet  of  observation,  may  have  a  connection  with  one  another. 
But  I  am  persuaded  the  other  facts  are  totally  independent  of 
these,  and  of  one  another,  and  are  accidentally  brought  together 
in  point  of  time.  Neither  nation  is  in  a  condition  to  go  to  war  : 
Great  Britain,  indeed,  the  least  so  of  the  two.  The  latter  power, 
or  rather,  its  monarch,  as  Elector  of  Hanover,  has  lately  confeder- 
ated with  the  King  of  Prussia  and  others  of  the  Germanic  body, 
evidently  in  opposition  to  the  Emperor's  designs  on  Bavaria.  An 
alliance,  too,  between  the  Empress  of  Russia  and  the  republic  of 
Venice,  seems  to  have  had  him  in  view,  as  he  had  meditated 
some  exchange  of  territory  with  that  republic.  This  desertion  of 
the  powers  heretofore  thought  friendly  to  him,  seems  to  leave  no 
issue  for  his  ambition,  but  on  the  side  of  Turkey.  His  demarka- 
tion  with  that  country  is  still  unsettled.  His  difference  with  the 
Dutch  is  certainly  agreed.  The  articles  are  not  yet  made  public  ; 


382  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

perhaps  not.  quite  adjusted.  Upon  the  whole,  we  may  count  on 
another  year's  peace  in  Europe,  and  that  our  friends  will  not, 
within  that  time,  he  brought  into  any  embarrassments,  which 
might  encourage  Great  Britain  to  be  difficult  in  settling  the  points 
still  unsettled  between  us. 

You  have,  doubtless,  seen  in  the  papers,  that  this  court  was 
sending  two  vessels  into  the  south  sea,  under  the  conduct  of  a 
Captain  Peyrouse.  They  give  out,  that  the  object  is  merely  for 
the  improvement  of  our  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  that  part 
of  the  globe.  And  certain  it  is,  that  they  carry  men  of  eminence, 
in  different  branches  of  science.  Their  loading,  however,  as  de- 
tailed in  conversations,  and  some  other  .circumstances,  appeared 
to  me  to  indicate  some  other  design :  perhaps  that  of  colonizing 
on  the  western  coast  of  America ;  or,  it  may  be,  only  to  establish 
one  or  more  factories  there,  for  the  fur  trade.  Perhaps  we  may 
be  little  interested  in  either  of  these  objects.  But  we  are  inter- 
ested in  another,  that  is,  to  know  whether  they  are  perfectly 
weaned  from  the  desire  of  possessing  continental  colonies  in 
America.  Events  might  arise,  which  would  render  it  very  desi- 
rable for  Congress  to  be  satisfied  they  have  no  such  wish.  If 
they  would  desire  a  colony  on  the  western  side  of  America,  I 
should  not  be  quite  satisfied  that  they  would  refuse  one  which 
should  offer  itself  on  the  eastern  side.  Captain  Paul  Jones  being 
at  L'Orient,  within  a  day's  journey  of  Brest,  where  Captain  Pey- 
rouse's  vessels  lay,  I  desired  him,  if  he  could  not  satisfy  himself 
at  L'Orient  of  the  nature  of  this  equipment,  to  go  to  Brest  for 
that  purpose  :  conducting  himself  so  as  to  excite  no  suspicion 
that  we  attended  at  all  to  this  expedition.  His  discretion  can 
be  relied  on,  and  his  expenses  for  so  short  a  journey,  will  be  a 
trifling  price  for  satisfaction  on  this  point.  I  hope,  therefore, 
that  my  undertaking  that  the  expenses  of  his  journey  shall  be 
reimbursed  him  will  not  be  disapproved. 

A  gentleman,  lately  arrived  from  New  York,  tells  me  he  thinks 
it  will  be  satisfactory  to  Congress  to  be  informed  of  the  effect 
produced  here  by  the  insult  of  Longchamps  on  Monsieur  de  Mar- 
bois.  Soon  after  my  arrival  in  France  last  summer,  it  was  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  383 

matter  of  a  converssation  between  the  Count  de  Vergennes  and 
myself.  I  explained  to  him  the  effect  of  the  judgment  against 
Longchamps.  He  did  not  say  that  it  was  satisfactory,  but  neither 
did  he  say  a  word  from  which  I  could  collect  that  it  was  not  so 
The  conversation  was  not  official,  because  foreign  to  the  character 
in  which  I  then  was.  He  has  never  mentioned  a  word  on  the 
subject  to  me  since,  and  it  was  not  for  me  to  introduce  it  at  any 
time.  I  have  never  once  heard  it  mentioned  in  conversation,  by 
any  person  of  this  country,  and  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
there  remains  any  uneasiness  on  the  subject.  I  have  indeed  been 
told,  that  they  had  sent  orders  to  make  a  formal  demand  of  Long- 
champs  from  Congress,  and  had  immediately  countermanded  these 
orders.  You  know  whether  this  be  true.  If  it  be,  I  should  sus- 
pect the  first  orders  to  have  been  surprised  from  them  by  some 
exaggeration,  and  that  the  latter  was  a  correction  of  their  error,  in 
the  moment  of  further  reflection.  Upon  the  whole,  there  cer-r 
tainly  appears  to  me  no  reason  to  urge  the  State,  in  which  the 
fact  happened,  to  any  violation  of  their  laws,  nor  to  set  a  prece- 
dent which  might  hereafter  be  used  in  cases  more  interesting  to 
us  than  the  late  one. 

In  a  late  conversation  with  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  he  asked 
me  if  the  condition  of  our  finances  was  improving.  He  did  not 
make  an  application  of  the  question  to  the  arrearages  of  their  in- 
terest, though  perhaps  he  meant  that  I  should  apply  it.  I  told 
him .  the  impost  still  found  obstacles,  and  explained  to  him  the 
effects  which  I  hoped  from  our  land  office.  Your  letter  of  the 
15th  of  April,  did  not  come  to  hand  till  the  27th  ultimo.  I  en- 
close a  letter  from  Mr.  Dumas  to  the  President  of  Congress,  and 
accompany  the  present  with  the  Leyden  Gazette  and  Gazette  of 
France,  from  the  date  last  sent  you  to  the  present  time. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  high  esteem,  Sir,  your  most  obe- 
dient, and  most  humble  servant. 


384  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO    JOHN    JAY. 

PARIS,  August  14,  1785. 

, — The  letter  of  June  18th,  signed  by  Dr.  Franklin  and 
myself,  is  the  last  addressed  to  you  from  hence  on  the  objects  of 
the  general  commission.  As  circumstances  rendered  it  necessary 
that  the  signature  of  the  Prussian  treaty,  whenever  it  should  be 
in  readiness,  should  be  made  separately,  the  intervention  of  a 
person  of  confidence  between  the  Prussian  Plenipotentiary  and 
us  became  also  requisite.  His  office  would  be  to  receive  the 
duplicates  of  the  treaty  here,  signed  by  Dr.  Franklin  and  myself, 
to  carry  them  to  London  to  Mr.  Adams,  and  to  the  Hague  to 
Baron  Thulemeyer  for  their  signatures.  Moreover,  to  take  hence 
the  original  of  our  full  powers  to  show  to  Baron  Thulemeyer, 
and  the  copy  of  his  which  he  has  before  communicated  to  us,  to 
ask  from  him  a  sight  of  the  original,  to  compare  the  copy  with 
it,  and  certify  the  latter  to  be  true.  Mr.  Adams,  Dr.  Franklin, 
and  myself,  therefore,  had  concluded  to  engage  Mr.  Short  (a 
gentleman  of  Virginia  who  lives  with  me  at  present)  to  transact 
this  business,  and  to  invest  him  with  the  character  of  Secretary 
pro  hac  vice,  in  order  that  his  signature  of  the  truth  of  the  copy 
of  Baron  Thulemcyer's  full  powers  might  authenticate  that  copy. 
On  the  receipt  of  the  letter  No.  1,  therefore,  from  that  minister, 
Mr.  Short  set  out  hence  with  the  necessary  papers.  By  a  letter 
lately  received  from  him,  I  expect  he  left  London  for  the  Hague 
about  the  10th  instant,  and  that  the  treaty  is  ultimately  executed 
by  this  time.  In  reppect  to  the  desire  expressed  by  Baron 
Thulemeyer  in  his  letter,  we  associated  Mr.  Dumas  with  Mr. 
Short  to  assist  in  the  exchange  of  signatures  and  other  ceremonies 
of  execution.  We  agreed  to  bear  Mr.  Short's  expenses,  and 
have  thought  that  a  guinea  a  day  (Sundays  excluded)  would  be 
a  proper  compensation  for  his  trouble  and  the  necessary  equip- 
ments for  his  journey,  which  could  not  enter  into  the  account  of 
travelling  expenses.  I  hope  by  the  first  safe  conveyance  to  bo 
able  to  forward  to  you  the  original  of  the  treaty.  No  2  is  my 


COKKESPONDENCE.  385 

answer  lo  Baron  Thulemeyer's  letter,  No.  3  our  instructions  to 
Mr.  Short,  and  No.  4  letter  to  Mr.  Dumas. 

Mr.  Lambe's  delay  gives  me  infinite  unneasiness.  You  will 
see  by  the  inclosed  papers,  Nos.  5,  6,  and  7,  sent  me  by  Mr. 
Carmichael,  that  the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  at  the  instance  of  the 
Spanish  Court,  has  delivered  up  the  crew  of  the  Betsey.  No.  8, 
also  received  from  Mr.  Carmichael,  is  a  list  of  the  articles  given 
the  Emperor  of  Morocco  the  last  year  by  the  States  General. 
It  is  believed  that  the  Spanish  negociator  at  Algiers  has  con- 
cluded a  peace  with  that  State,  and  has  agreed  to  give  them  a 
million  of  dollars,  besides  a  very  considerable  quantity  of  things 
in  kind.  The  treaty  meets  with  difficulties  in  the  ratification, — 
perhaps  the  exorbitance  of  the  price  may  occasion  them. 
Rumors  are  spread  abroad  that  they  are  pointing  their  prepara- 
tions at  us.  The  enclosed  paper,  No.  9,  is  the  only  colorable 
evidence  of  this  which  has  come  to  my  knowledge.  I  have 
proposed  to  Mr.  Adams  that  if  Mr.  Lambe  does  not  come  either 
in  the  French  or  English  packet,  then  (August  6)  next  expected, 
to  send  some  person  immediately  to  negotiate  these  treaties,  on 
the  presumption  that  Mr.  Lambe's  purpose  has  been  changed. 
We  shall  still  be  at  a  loss  for  the  instructions  of  which  he  is  said 
to  have  been  the  bearer.  I  expect  Mr.  Adams's  answer  on  this 
subject. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect 
and  esteem,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    THE    COUNT    DE    VERGENNES. 

PARIS,  August  15,  1785. 

SIR, — In  the  conversation  which  I  had  the  honor  of  having 
with  your  Excellency,  a  few  days  ago,  on  the  importance  oi 
placing,  at  this  time,  the  commerce  between  France  and  Ame- 
rica on  the  best  footing  possible,  among  other  objects  of  this 
commerce,  that  of  tobacco  was  mentioned,  as  susceptible  of 

VOL.  i.  25 


386  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

greater  encouragement  and  advantage  to  the  two  nations.  Al- 
ways distrusting  what  I  say  in  a  language  I  speak  so  imper- 
fectly, I  will  beg  your  permission  to  state,  in  English,  the  sub- 
stance of  what  I  had  then  the  honor  to  observe,  adding  some 
more  particular  details  for  your  consideration. 

I  find  the  consumption  of  tobacco  in  France  estimated  at 
from  fifteen  to  thirty  millions  of  pounds.  The  most  probable 
estimate,  however,  places  it  at  twenty-four  millions. 

This  costing  eight  sous  the  pound,  delivered  in  a  port  of  France, 

amounts  to 9,600,000  livres. 

Allow  six  sous  a  pound,  as  the  average  cost  of  the  different  manu- 
factures   7,200,000 

The  revenue  which  the  King  derives  from  this,  is  something  less 

than 30,000,000 


Which  would  make  the  cost  of  the  whole 46,800,000 

But  it  is  sold  to  the  consumers  at  an  average  of  three  livres  the 

pound 72,000,000 


There  remain,  then,  for  the  expenses  of  collection  .         .         .  25. 200,000  Tivres. 

This  is  within  a  sixth  as  much  as  the  King  receives,  and  so 
gives  nearly  one  half  for  collecting  the  other.  It  would  be 
presumption  in  me,  a  stranger,  to  suppose  my  numbers  perfectly 
accurate.  I  have  taken  them  from  the  best  and  most  disinter- 
ested authorities  I  could  find.  Your  Excellency  will  know  how 
far  they  are  wrong ;  and  should  you  find  them  considerably 
wrong,  yet  I  am  persuaded  you  will  find,  after  strictly  correcting 
them,  that  the  collection  of  this  branch  of  the  revenue  still 
absorbs  too  much. 

My  apology  for  making  these  remarks  will,  I  hope,  be  found 
in  my  wishes  to  improve  the  commerce  between  the  two  nations, 
and  the  interest  which  my  own  country  will  derive  from  this 
improvement.  The  monopoly  of  the  purchase  of  tobacco  in 
France  discourages  both  the  French  and  American  merchant 
from  bringing  it  here,  and  from  taking  in  exchange  the  manu- 
factures and  productions  of  France.  It  is  contrary  to  the  spirit 
of  trade,  and  to  the  dispositions  of  merchants,  to  carry  a  com- 
modity to  any  market  where  but  one  person  is  allowed  to  buy  it, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  387 

and  where,  of  course,  that  person  fixes  its  price,  which  the  seller 
must  receive,  or  re-export  his  commodity,  at  the  loss  of  his  voy- 
age thither.  Experience  accordingly  shows,  that  they  carry  it 
to  other  markets,  and  that  they  take  in  exchange  the  merchan- 
dise of  the  place  where  they  deliver  it.  I  am  misinformed,  if 
France  has  not  been  furnished  from  a  neighboring  nation  with 
considerable  quantities  of  tobacco  since  the  peace,  and  been 
obliged  to  pay  there  in  coin,  what  might  have  been  paid  here  in 
manufactures,  had  the  French  and  American  merchants  brought 
the  tobacco  originally  here.  I  suppose,  too,  that  the  purchases 
made  by  the  Farmers  General,  in  America,  are  paid  for  chiefly 
in  coin,  which  coin  is  also  remitted  directly  hence  to  England, 
and  makes  an  important  part  of  the  balance  supposed  to  be  in 
favor  of  that  nation  against  this.  Should  the  Farmers  General, 
by  themselves,  or  by  the  company  to  whom  they  may  commit 
the  procuring  these  tobaccos  from  America,  require,  for  the  satis- 
faction of  government  on  this  head,  the  exportation  of  a  propor- 
tion of  merchandise  in  exchange  for  them,  it  would  be  an  un- 
promising expedient.  It  would  only  commit  the  exports,  as  well 
as  imports,  between  France  and  America,  to  a  monopoly,  which, 
being  secure  against  rivals  in  the  sale  of  the  merchandise  of 
France,  would  not  be  likely  to  sell  at  such  moderate  prices  as 
might  encourage  its  consumption  there,  and  enable  it  to  bear  a 
competition  with  similar  articles  from  other  countries.  I  am  per- 
suaded this  exportation  of  coin  may  be  prevented,  and  that  of 
commodities  effected,  by  leaving  both  operations  to  the  French 
and  American  merchants,  instead  of  the  Farmers  General.  They 
will  import  a  sufficient  quantity  of  tobacco,  if  they  are  allowed 
a  perfect  freedom  in  the  sale  ;  and  they  will  receive  in  payment, 
wines,  oils,  brandies,  and  manufactures,  instead  of  coin  ;  forcing 
each  other,  by  their  competition,  to  bring  tobaccos  of  the  best 
quality ;  to  give  to  the  French  manufacturer  the  full  worth  of 
his  merchandise,  and  to  sell  to  the  American  consumer  at  the 
lowest  price  they  can  afford  ;  thus  encouraging  him  to  use,  in 
preference,  the  merchandise  of  this  country. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  this  exchange  should  be  favored  by 


388  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

any  loss  of  revenue  to  the  King.  I  do  not  mean  to  urge  any- 
thing which  shall  injure  either  his  Majesty  or  his  people.  On 
the  contrary,  the  measure  I  have  the  honor  of  proposing,  will 
increase  his  revenue,  while  it  places  both  the  seller  and  buyer  on 
a  better  footing.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say,  what  system  of  collec- 
tion may  be  best  adapted  to  the  organization  of  this  government ; 
nor  whether  any  useful  hints  may  be  taken  from  the  practice  of 
that  country,  which  has  heretofore  been  the  principal  entrepot 
for  this  commodity.  Their  system  is  simple  and  little  expensive. 
The  importer,  there,  pays  the  whole  duty  to  the  King  ;  and  as 
this  would  be  inconvenient  for  him  to  do  before  he  has  sold  his 
tobacco,  he  is  permitted,  on  arrival,  to  deposit  it  in  the  King's 
warehouse,  under  the  locks  of  the  King's  officer.  As  soon  as  he 
has  sold  it,  he  goes  with  the  purchaser  to  the  warehouse,  the 
money  is  there  divided  between  the  King  and  him,  to  each  his 
proportion,  and  the  purchaser  takes  out  the  tobacco.  The  pay- 
ment of  the  King's  duty  is  thus  ensured  in  ready  money.  What 
is  the  expense  of  its  collection,  I  cannot  say  ;  but  it  certainly 
need  not  exceed  six  livres  a  hogshead  of  one  thousand  pounds. 
That  government  levies  a  higher  duty  on  tobacco  than  is  levied 
here.  Yet  so  tempting  and  so  valuable  is  the  perfect  liberty  of 
sale,  that  the  merchant  carries  it  there,  and  finds  his  account  in 
doing  so. 

If,  by  a  simplification  of  the  collection  of  the  King's  duty  on 
tobacco,  the  cost  of  that  collection  can  be  reduced  even  to  five 
per  cent.,  or  a  million  and  a  half,  instead  of  twenty-five  millions ; 
the  price  to  the  consumer  will  be  reduced  from  three  to  two  livres 
the  pound.  For  thus  I  calculate  : 

The  cost,  manufacture,  and  revenue,  on  twenty -four  million  pounds 

of  tobacco  boing  (as  before  stated) 46,800,000  livres. 

Five  per  cent,  on  thirty  millions  of  livres,  expenses  of  collection     1  500,000 

Give  -what  the  consumers  would  pay,  being  about  two  livres  a 

pound ...  48,300,000 

But  they  pay  at  present  three  livres  a  pound         ....  72,000,000 

The  difference  is 23,700,000 

The  price,  being  thus  reduced  one-third,  would  be  brought 


CORRESPONDENCE.  389 

within  the  reach  of  a  new  and  numerous  circle  of  the  people, 
who  cannot,  at  present,  afford  themselves  this  luxury.  The  con- 
sumption, then,  would  probably  increase,  and  perhaps,  in  the  same 
if  not  a  greater  proportion,  with  the  reduction  of  the  price ;  that 
is  to  say,  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  millions  of  pounds  ;  and 
the  King,  continuing  to  receive  twenty-five  sous  on  the  pound, 
as  at  present,  would  receive  forty-five  instead  of  thirty  millions 
of  livres,  while  his  subjects  would  pay  but  two  livres  for  an  ob- 
ject which  has  heretofore  cost  them  three.  Or  if,  in  event,  the 
consumption  were  not  to  be  increased,  he  would  levy  only  forty- 
eight  millions  on  his  people,  where  seventy-two  millions  are  now 
levied,  and  would  leave  twenty-four  millions  in  their  pockets, 
either  to  remain  there,  or  to  be  levied  in  some  other  form,  should 
the  state  of  revenue  require  it.  It  will  enable  his  subjects,  also, 
to  dispose  of  between  nine  and  ten  millions  worth  of  their  pro- 
duce and  manufactures,  instead  of  sending  nearly  that  sum  an- 
nually, in  coin,  to  enrich  a  neighboring  nation. 

I  have  heard  two  objections  made  to  the  suppression  of  this 
monopoly.  1.  That  it  might  increase  the  importation  of  tobac- 
co in  contraband.  2.  That  it  would  lessen  the  abilities  of  the 
Farmers  General  to  make  occasional  loans  of  money  to  the  pub- 
lic treasury.  These  objections  will  surely  be  better  answered  by 
those  who  are  better  acquainted  than  I  am  with  the  details  and 
circumstances  of  the  country.  With  respect  to  the  first,  how- 
ever, I  may  observe,  that  contraband  does  not  increase  on  lessen- 
ing the  temptations  to  it.  It  is  now  encouraged  by  those  who 
engage  in  it  being  able  to  sell  for  sixty  sous  what  cost  but  four- 
teen, leaving  a  gain  of  forty-six  sous.  When  the  price  shall  be 
reduced  from  sixty  to  forty  sous,  the  gain  will  be  but  twenty- 
six,  that  is  to  say,  a  little  more  than  one-half  of  what  it  is  at  pre- 
sent. It  does  not  seem  a  natural  consequence  then,  that  contra- 
band should  be  increased  by  reducing  its  gain  nearly  one-half. 
As  to  the  second  objection,  if  we  suppose  (for  elucidation  and 
without  presuming  to  fix)  the  proportion  of  the  farm  on  tobacco, 
at  one-eighth  of  the  whole  mass  farmed,  the  abilities  of  the 
Farmers  General  to  lend,  will  be  reduced  one-eighth,  that  is, 


390  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

they  can  hereafter  lend  only  seven  millions,  where  heretofore 
they  have  lent  eight.  It  is  to  be  considered  then,  whether  this 
eighth  (or  other  proportion,  whatever  it  be)  is  worth  the  annual 
sacrifice  of  twenty-four  millions,  or  if  a  much  smaller  sacrifice 
to  other  moneyed  men,  will  not  produce  the  same  loans  of  money 
in  the  ordinary  way. 

While  the  advantages  of  an  increase  of  revenue  to  the  crown, 
a  diminution  of  impost  on  the  people,  and  a  payment  in  mer- 
chandise, instead  of  money,  are  conjectured  as  likely  to  result  to 
France  from  a  suppression  of  the  monopoly  on  tobacco,  we  have 
also  reason  to  hope  some  advantages  on  our  part ;  and  this  hope 
alone  could  justify  my  entering  into  the  present  details.  I  do 
not  expect  this  advantage  will  be  by  any  augmentation  of  price. 
The  other  markets  of  Europe  have  too  much  influence  on  this 
article  to  admit  any  sensible  augmentation  of  price  to  take  place. 
But  the  advantage  I  principally  expect  is  an  increase  of  consump- 
tion. This  will  give  us  a  vent  for  so  much  more,  and,  of  con- 
sequence, find  employment  for  so  many  more  cultivators  of  the 
earth  ;  and  in  whatever  proportion  it  increases  this  production 
for  us,  in  the  same  proportion  will  it  procure  additional  vent  for 
the  merchandise  of  France,  and  employment  for  the  hands  which 
produce  it.  I  expect,  too,  that  by  bringing  our  merchants 
here,  they  would  procure  a  number  of  commodities  in  exchange, 
better  in  kind,  and  cheaper  in  price.  It  is  with  sincerity  I  add, 
that  warm  feelings  are  indulged  in  my  breast  by  the  further 
hope,  that  it  would  bind  the  two  nations  still  closer  in  friend- 
ship, by  binding  them  in  interest.  In  truth,  no  two  countries 
are  better  calculated  for  the  exchanges  of  commerce.  France 
wants  rice,  tobacco,  potash,  furs,  and  ship-timber.  We  want 
wines,  brandies,  oils,  and  manufactures.  There  is  an  affection, 
too,  between  the  two  people,  which  disposes  them  to  favor  one 
another.  If  they  do  not  come  together,  then,  to  make  the  ex- 
changes in  their  own  ports,  it  shows  there  is  some  substantial  ob- 
structions in  the  way.  We  have  had  the  benefit  of  too  many 
proofs  of  his  Majesty's  friendly  disposition  towards  the  United 
States,  and  know  too  well  his  affectionate  care  of  his  own  sub- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  391 

jects,  to  doubt  his  willingness  to  remove  these  obstructions,  if 
they  can  be  unequivocally  pointed  out.  It  is  for  his  wisdom  to 
decide,  whether  the  monopoly,which  is  the  subject  of  this  letter, 
be  deservedly  classed  with  the  principal  of  these.  It  is  a  great 
comfort  to  me,  too,  that,  in  presenting  this  to  the  mind  of  his 
Majesty,  your  Excellency  will  correct  my  ideas  where  an  insuf- 
ficient knowledge  of  facts  may  have  led  me  into  error  ;  and  that, 
while  the  interests  of  the  King  and  of  his  people  are  the  first 
objects  of  your  attention,  an  additional  one  will  be  presented  by 
those  dispositions  toward  us,  which  have  heretofore  so  often  be- 
friended our  nation. 

I  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  repeat  the  assurance  of  that 
high  respect  and  esteem,  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO  CAPTAIN  JOHN  PAUL  JONES. 

PARIS,  August  17,  1785. 

SIR, — Mine  of  the  13th  informed  you  that  I  had  written  to 
the  M.  de  Castries  on  the  subject  of  Puchilberg's  interference. 
Yesterday  I  received  his  answer  dated  the  12th.  In  that  he 
says  that  he  is  informed  by  the  Ordonneteur  that  he  has  not 
been  able  to  get  an  authentic  roll  of  the  crew  of  the  Alliance, 
and  that, in  the  probable  case  of  there  having  been  some  French 
subjects  among  them,  it  will  be  just  that  you  should  give  secu- 
rity to  repay  their  portions.  I  wrote  to  him  this  morning,  that 
as  you  have  obliged  yourself  to  transmit  the  money  to  the  treas- 
ury of  this  United  States,  it  does  not  seem  just  to  require  you  to 
be  answerable  for  money  which  will  be  no  longer  within  your 
power ;  that  the  repayment  of  such  portions  will  be  incumbent 
on  Congress ;  that  I  will  immediately  solicit  their  orders  to  have 
all  such  claims  paid  by  their  banker  here;  and  that, should  any 
be  presented  before  I  receive  their  orders,  I  will  undertake  to  di- 
rect the  banker  of  the  United  States  to  pay  them,  that  there  may 


892  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

be  no  delay.  I  trust  that  this  will  remove  the  difficulty,  and 
that  it  is  the  last  which  will  be  offered.  The  ultimate  answer 
shall  be  communicated  the  moment  I  receive  it.  Having  pledged 
myself  for  the  claims  which  may  be  offered  before  I  receive  the 
orders  of  Congress,  it  is  necessary  to  arm  myself  with  the  proper 
checks.  Can  you  give  me  a  roll  of  the  crew,  pointing  out  the 
French  subjects  ?  If  not,  can  you  recollect  personally  the  French 
subjects,  and  name  them  to  me,  and  the  sums  they  are  entitled 
to  ?  If  there  were  none  such,  yet  the  roll  will  be  material,  be- 
cause I  have  no  doubt  that  Puchilberg  will  excite  claims  upon 
me,  either  true  or  false. 

I  am,  with  much  respect,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    WILLIAM    CARMICHAEL. 

PARIS,  August  IS,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — My  last  to  you  was  of  June  the  22d,  with  a  post- 
script of  July  the  14th.  Yours  of  June  the  27th  came  to  hand 
the  23d  of  July,  and  that  of  July  the  28th  came  to  hand  the 
10th  instant.  The  papers  enclosed  in  the  last  shall  be  communi- 
cated to  Mr.  Adams.  I  see  with  extreme  satisfaction  and  grati- 
tude the  friendly  interposition  of  the  court  of  Spain  with  the 
Emperor  of  Morocco  on  the  subject  of  the  brig  Betsey,  and  I  am 
persuaded  it  will  produce  the  happiest  effects  in  America.  Those, 
who  are  intrusted  with  the  public  affairs  there,  are  sufficiently 
sensible  how  essential  it  is  for  our  interest  to  cultivate  peace  with 
Spain,  and  they  will  be  pleased  to  see  a  corresponding  disposition 
in  that  court.  The  late  good  office  of  emancipating  a  number 
of  our  countrymen  from  slavery  is  peculiarly  calculated  to  pro- 
duce a  sensation  among  our  people,  and  to  dispose  them  to  relish 
and  adopt  the  pacific  and  friendly  views  of  their  leaders  towards 
Spain.  We  hear  nothing  yet  of  Mr.  Lambe.  I  have  therefore 
lately  proposed  to  Mr.  Adams,  that  if  he  does  not  come  in  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  393 

French  or  English  packet  of  this  month,  we  will  wait  no  longer. 
If  he  accedes  to  the  proposition,  you  will  be  sure  of  hearing  of, 
and,  perhaps,  of  seeing,  some  agent  proceeding  on  that  business. 
The  immense  sum,  said  to  have  been  proposed  on  the  part  of 
Spain  to  Algiers,  leaves  us  little  hope  of  satisfying  their  avarice. 
It  may  happen,  then,  that  the  interests  of  Spain  and  America  may 
call  for  a  concert  of  proceedings  against  that  State.  The  dispo- 
sitions of  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  give  us  better  hopes  there. 
May  not  the  affairs  of  the  Musquito  coast,  and  our  western  ports, 
produce  another  instance  of  a  common  interest  ?  Indeed,  I 
meet  this  correspondence  of  interest  in  so  many  quarters,  that 
I  look  with  anxiety  to  the  issue  of  Mr.  Gardoqui's  mission, 
hoping  it  will  be  a  removal  of  the  only  difficulty  at  present 
subsisting  between  the  two  nations,  or  which  is  likely  to 
arise. 

Congress  are  not  likely  to  adjourn  this  summer.  They  have 
purchased  the  Indian  right  of  soil  to  about  fifty  millions  of  acres 
of  land  between  the  Ohio  and  lakes,  and  expected  to  make  an- 
other purchase  of  an  equal  quantity.  They  have,  in  consequence, 
passed  an  ordinance  for  disposing  of  their  lands,  and  I  think  a 
very  judicious  one.  They  propose  to  sell  them  at  auction  for  not 
less  than  a  dollar  an  acre,  receiving  their  own  certificates  of  debt 
as  money.  I  am  of  opinion,  all  the  certificates  of  our  domestic 
debt  will  immediately  be  exchanged  for  land.  Our  foreign  debt, 
in  that  case,  will  soon  be  discharged.  New  York  and  Rhode  Is- 
land still  refuse  the  impost.  A  general  disposition  is  taking  place 
to  commit  the  whole  management  of  our  commerce  to  Congress. 
This  has  been  much  promoted  by  the  interested  policy  of  Eng- 
land, which,  it  was  apparent,  could  not  be  counter-worked  by 
the  States  separately.  In  the  meantime,  the  other  great  towns 
are  acceding  to  the  proceedings  of  Boston  for  annihilating,  in  a 
great  measure,  their  commercial  connections  with  Great  Britain. 
I  will  send  the  cypher  by  a  gentleman,  who  goes  from  here  to 
Madrid  about  a  month  hence.  It  shall  be  a  copy  of  the  one  I 
gave  Mr.  Adams.  The  letter  of  Don  Gomez  has  been  delivered 


394  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

at  the  hotel  of  the  Portuguese  ambassador,  who  is,  however,  in 
the  country. 

I  am,  with  much  respect,  dear  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    MRS.  TR1ST. 

PARIS,  August  18,  1785. 


DEAR  MADAM, — 


I  am  much  pleased  with  the  people  of  this  country.  The 
roughness  of  the  human  mind  are  so  thoroughly  rubbed  off  with 
them,  that  it  seems  as  if  one  might  glide  through  a  whole  life 
among  them  without  a  jostle.  Perhaps,  too,  their  manners  may 
be  the  best  calculated  for  happiness  to  a  people  in  their  situation, 
but  I  am  convinced  they  fall  far  short  of  effecting  a  happiness  so 
temperate,  so  uniform,  and  so  lasting  as  is  generally  enjoyed  with 
us.  The  domestic  bonds  here  are  absolutely  done  away,  and 
where  can  their  compensation  be  found?  Perhaps  they  may 
catch  some  moments  of  transport  above  the  level  of  the  ordinary 
tranquil  joy  we  experience,  but  they  are  separated  by  long  inter- 
vals, during  which  all  the  passions  are  at  sea  without  rudder  or 
compass.  Yet,  fallacious  as  the  pursuits  of  happiness  are,  they 
seem  on  the  whole  to  furnish  the  most  effectual  abstraction  frcm 
a  contemplation  of  the  hardness  of  their  government.  Indeed, 
it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  so  good  a  people,  with  so  good  a 
King,  so  well-disposed  rulers  in  general,  so  genial  a  climate,  so 
fertile  a  soil,  should  be  rendered  so  ineffectual  for  producing 
human  happiness  by  one  single  curse, — that  of  a  bad  form  of 
government.  But  it  is  a  fact,  in  spite  of  the  mildness  of  their 
governors,  the  people  are  ground  to  powder  by  the  vices  of  the 
form  of  government.  Of  twenty  millions  of  people  supposed  to 
be  in  France,  I  am  of  opinion  there  are  nineteen  millions  more 
wretched,  more  accursed  in  every  circumstance  of  human  exist- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  395 

ence  than  the  most  conspicuously  wretched  individual  of  the 
whole  United  States.  I  beg  your  pardon  for  getting  into  poli- 
tics. I  will  add  only  one  sentiment  more  of  that  character,  that 
is,  nourish  peace  with  their  persons,  hut  war  against  their  man- 
ners. Every  step  we  take  towards  the  adoption  of  their  man- 
ners is  a  step  to  perfect  misery.  I  pray  you  to  write  to  me  often. 
Do  not  you  turn  politician  too ;  hut  write  me  all  the  small  news 
— the  news  about  persons  and  about  states  ;  tell  me  who  dies,  that  I 
may  meet  these  disagreeable  events  in  detail,  and  not  all  at  once 
when  I  return  ;  who  marry,  who  hang  themselves  because  they 
cannot  marry,  &c.  Present  me  in  the  most  friendly  terms  to 
Mrs.  House  and  Browse,  and  be  assured  of  the  sincerity  with 
which  I  am,  dear  Madam, 

Your  affectionate  friend  and  servant. 


TO    PETER    CARB. 

PARIS,  August  19,  1T85. 

DEAR  PETER, — I  received,  by  Mr.  Mazzei,  your  letter  of  April 
the  20th.  I  am  much  mortified  to  hear  that  you  have  lost  so 
much  time ;  and  that,  when  you  arrived  in  Williamsburg,  you 
were  not  at  all  advanced  from  what  you  were  when  you  left 
Monticello.  Time  now  begins  to  be  precious  to  you.  Every 
day  you  lose  will  retard  a  day  your  entrance  on  that  public 
stage  whereon  you  may  begin  to  be  useful  to  yourself.  How- 
ever, the  way  to  repair  the  loss  is  to  improve  the  future  time. 
I  trust,  that  with  your  dispositions,  even  the  acquisition  of 
science  is  a  pleasing  employment.  I  can  assure  you,  that  the 
possession  of  it  is,  what  (next  to  an  honest  heart)  will  above  all 
things  render  you  dear  to  your  friends,  and  give  you  fame  and 
promotion  in  your  own  country.  When  your  mind  shall  be  well 
improved  with  science,  nothing  will  be  necessary  to  place  you  in 
the  highest  points  of  view,  but  to  pursue  the  interests  of  your 
country,  the  interests  of  your  friends,  and  your  own  interests 


396  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

also,  with  the  purest  integrity,  the  most  chaste  honor.  The  de- 
fect of  these  virtues  can  never  be  made  up  by  all  the  other  ac- 
quirements of  body  and  mind.  Make  these,  then,  your  first  ob- 
ject. Give  up  money,  give  up  fame,  give  up  science,  give  the 
earth  itself  and  all  it  contains,  rather  than  do  an  immoral  act. 
And  never  suppose,  that  in  any  possible  situation,  or  under  any 
circumstances,  it  is  best  for  you  to  do  a  dishonorable  thing,  how- 
ever slightly  so  it  may  appear  to  you.  Whenever  you  are  to  do 
a  thing,  though  it  can  never  be  known  but  to  yourself,  ask  your- 
self how  you  would  act  were  all  the  world  looking  at  you,  and 
act  accordingly.  Encourage  all  your  virtuous  dispositions,  and 
exercise  them  whenever  an  opportunity  arises  ;  being  assured 
that  they  will  gain  strength  by  exercise,  as  a  limb  of  the  body 
does,  and  that  exercise  will  make  them  habitual.  From  the 
practice  of  the  purest  virtue,  you  may  be  assured  you  will  de- 
rive the  most  sublime  comforts  in  every  moment  of  life,  and  in 
the  moment  of  death.  If  ever  you  find  yourself  environed  with 
difficulties  and  perplexing  circumstances,  out  of  which  you  are 
at  a  loss  how  to  extricate  yourself,  do  what  is  right,  and  be  as- 
sured that  that  will  extricate  you  the  best  out  of  the  worst  situa- 
tions. Though  you  cannot  see,  when  you  take  one  step,  what 
will  be  the  next,  yet  follow  truth,  justice,  and  plain  dealing,  and 
never  fear  their  leading  you  out  of  the  labyrinth,  in  the  easiest 
manner  possible.  The  knot  which  you  thought  a  Gordian  one, 
will  untie  itself  before  you.  Nothing  is  so  mistaken  as  the  sup- 
position, that  a  person  is  to  extricate  himself  from  a  difficulty, 
by  intrigue,  by  chicanery,  by  dissimulation,  by  trimming,  by 
an  untruth,  by  an  injustice.  This  increases  the  difficulties  ten- 
fold ;  and  those,  who  pursue  these  methods,  get  themselves  so 
involved  at  length,  that  they  can  turn  no  way  but  their  infamy 
becomes  more  exposed.  It  is  of  great  importance  to  set  a  reso- 
lution, not  to  be  shaken,  never  to  tell  an  untruth.  There  is  no 
vice  so  mean,  so  pitiful,  so  contemptible ;  and  he  who  permits 
himself  to  tell  a  lie  once,  finds  it  much  easier  to  do  it  a  second 
and  third  time,  till  at  length  it  becomes  habitual ;  he  tells  lies 
without  attending  to  it,  and  truths  without  the  world's  believing 


CORRESPONDENCE.  397 

him.     This  falsehood  of  the  tongue  leads  to  that  of  the  heart, 
and  in  time  depraves  all  its  good  dispositions. 

An  honest  heart  being  the  first  blessing,  a  knowing  head  is 
the  second.  It  is  time  for  you  now  to  begin  to  be  choice  in 
your  reading  ;  to  begin  to  pursue  a  regular  course  in  it  ;  and  not 
to  suffer  yourself  to  be  turned  to  the  right  or  left  by  reading 
anything  out  of  that  course.  I  have  long  ago  digested  a  plan  for 
you,  suited  to  the  circumstances  in  which  you  will  be  placed. 
This  I  will  detail  to  you,  from  time  to  time,  as  you  advance. 
For  the  present,  I  advise  you  to  begin  a  course  of  ancient  his- 
tory, reading  everything  in  the  original  and  not  in  translations. 
First  read  Goldsmith's  history  of  Greece.  This  will  give  you  a 
digested  view  of  that  field.  Then  take  up  ancient  history  in 
the  detail,  reading  the  following  books,  in  the  following  order : 
Herodotus,  Thucydides,  Xenophontis  Anabasis,  Arrian,  Quintus 
Curtius,  Diodorus  Siculus,  Justin.  This  shall  form  the  first 
stage  of  your  historical  reading,  and  is  all  1  need  mention  to  you 
now.  The  next  will  be  of  Roman  history.*  From  that,  we 
will  come  down  to  modern  history.  In  Greek  and  Latin  poetry, 
you  have  read  or  will  read  at  school,  Virgil,  Terence,  Horace, 
Anacreon,  Theocritus,  Homer,  Euripides,  Sophocles.  Read 
also  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  Shakspeare,  Ossian,  Pope's  and 
Swift's  works,  in  order  to  form  your  style  in  your  own  lan- 
guage. In  morality,  read  Epictetus,  Xenophontis  Memorabilia, 
Plato's  Socratic  dialogues,  Cicero's  philosophies,  Antoninus,  and 
Seneca.  In  order  to  assure  a  certain  progress  in  this  reading, 
consider  what  hours  you  have  free  from  the  school  and  the  ex- 
ercises of  the  school.  Give  about  two  of  them,  every  day,  to 
exercise  ;  for  health  must  not  be  sacrificed  to  learning.  A  strong 
body  makes  the  mind  strong.  As  to  the  species  of  exercise,  I 
advise  the  gun.  While  this  gives  a  moderate  exercise  to  the 
body,  it  gives  boldness,  enterprise,  and  independence  to  the 
mind.  Games  played  with  the  ball,  and  others  of  that  nature, 
are  too  violent  for  the  body,  and  stamp  no  character  on  the 

*  Livy,  Sallust,  Caesar,  Cicero's  epistles,  Suetonius.  Tacitus,  Gibbon. 


JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

mind.  Let  your  gun,  therefore,  be  the  constant  companion  of 
your  walks.  Never  think  of  taking  a  book  with  you.  The 
object  of  walking  is  to  relax  the  mind.  You  should  therefore 
not  permit  yourself  even  to  think  while  you  walk ;  but  divert 
yourself  by  the  objects  surrounding  you.  Walking  is  the  best 
possible  exercise.  Habituate  yourself  to  walk  very  far.  The 
Europeans  value  themselves  on  having  subdued  the  horse  to 
the  uses  of  man ;  but  I  doubt  whether  we  have  not  lost  more 
than  we  have  gained,  by  the  use  of  this  animal.  No  one  has 
occasioned  so  much  the  degeneracy  of  the  human  body.  An 
Indian  goes  on  foot  nearly  as  far  in  a  day,  for  a  long  journey, 
as  an  enfeebled  white  does  on  his  horse  ;  and  he  will  tire  the 
best  horses.  There  is  no  habit  you  will  value  so  much  as  that 
of  walking  far  without  fatigue.  I  would  advise  you  to  take 
your  exercise  in  the  afternoon  :  not  because  it  is  the  best  time 
for  exercise,  for  certainly  it  is  not ;  but  because  it  is  the  best 
time  to  spare  from  your  studies ;  and  habit  will  soon  reconcile  it 
to  health,  and  render  it  nearly  as  useful  as  if  you  gave  to  that 
the  more  precious  hours  of  the  day.  A  little  walk  of  half  an 
hour,  in  the  morning,  when  you  first  rise,  is  advisable  also.  It 
shakes  off  sleep,  and  produces  other  good  effects  in  the  animal 
economy.  Rise  at  a  fixed  and  an  early  hour,  and  go  to  bed  at 
a  fixed  and  early  hour  also.  Sitting  up  late  at  night  is  injurious 
to  the  health,  and  not  useful  to  the  mind.  Having  ascribed 
proper  hours  to  exercise,  divide  what  remain  (I  mean  of  your 
vacant  hours)  into  three  portions.  Give  the  principal  to  History, 
the  other  two,  which  should  be  shorter,  to  Philosophy  and 
Poetry.  Write  to  me  once  every  month  or  two,  and  let  me 
know  the  progress  you  make.  Tell  me  in  what  manner  you 
employ  every  hour  in  the  day.  The  plan  I  have  proposed  for 
you  is  adapted  to  your  present  situation  only.  When  that  is 
changed,  I  shall  propose  a  corresponding  change  of  plan.  I 
have  ordered  the  following  books  to  be  sent  to  you  from  Lon- 
don, to  the  care  of  Mr.  Madison :  Herodotus,  Thucydides, 
Xenophon's  Hellenics,  Anabasis  and  Memorabilia,  Cicero's 
works,  Baretti's  Spanish  and  English  Dictionary,  Martin's  Philo- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  399 

sophical  Grammar,  and  Martin's  Philosophia  Britannica.  I  will 
send  you  the  following  from  hence  :  Bezout's  Mathematics,  De 
la  Lande's  Astronomy,  Muschenbrock's  Physics,  duintus  Cur- 
tius,  Justin,  a  Spanish  Grammar,  and  some  Spanish  books. 
You  will  observe  that  Martin,  Bezout,  De  la  Lande,  and  Musch- 
enbrock,  are  not  in  the  preceding  plan.  They  are  not  to  be 
opened  till  you  go  to  the  University.  You  are  now,  I  expect, 
learning  French.  You  must  push  this ;  because  the  books 
which  will  be  put  into  your  hands  when  you  advance  into 
Mathematics,  Natural  philosophy,  Natural  history,  &c.,  will  be 
mostly  French,  these  sciences  being  better  treated  by  the  French 
than  the  English  writers.  Our  future  connection  with  Spain 
renders  that  the  most  necessary  of  the  modern  languages,  after 
the  French.  When  you  become  a  public  man,  you  may  have 
occasion  for  it,  and  the  circumstance  of  your  possessing  that 
language,  may  give  you  a  preference  over  other  candidates.  I 
have  nothing  further  to  add  for  the  present,  but  husband  well 
your  time,  cherish  your  instructors,  strive  to  make  everybody 
your  friend ;  and  be  assured  that  nothing  will  be  so  pleasing  as 
your  success  to,  Dear  Peter, 

Yours  affectionately. 


TO    JOHN    PAGE. 

PARIS,  August  20,  1785. 

DEAR  PAGE, — I  received  your  friendly  letter  of  April  the  28th, 
by  Mr.  Mazzei,  on  the  22d  of  July.  That  of  the  month  before, 
by  Monsieur  le  Croix,  has  not  come  to  hand.  This  correspon- 
dence is  grateful  to  some  of  my  warmest  feelings,  as  the  friend- 
ships of  my  youth  are  those  which  adhere  closest  to  me,  and  in 
which  I  most  confide.  My  principal  happiness  is  now  in  the 
retrospect  of  life. 

I  thank  you  for  your  notes  of  your  operations  on  the  Pennsyl- 
vania boundary.  I  am  in  hopes  that  from  yourself,  Madison, 


400  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Rittenhouse  or  Hatchings,  I  shall  receive  a  chart  of  the  line  as 
actually  run.  It  will  be  a  great  present  to  me.  I  think  Hutch- 
ings  promised  to  send  it  to  me.  I  have  been  much  pleased  to 
hear  you  had  it  in  contemplation,  to  endeavor  to  establish  Rit- 
tenhouse in  our  College.  This  would  be  an  immense  acquisi- 
tion, and  would  draw  youth  to  it  from  every  part  of  the  conti- 
nent. You  will  do  much  more  honor  to  our  society,  on  reviving 
it,  by  placing  him  at  its  head,  than  so  useless  a  member  as  I 
should  be.  I  have  been  so  long  diverted  from  this  my  favorite 
line,  and  that,  too,  without  acquiring  an  attachment  to  my  adopted 
one,  that  I  am  become  a  mongrel,  of  no  decided  order,  unowned 
by  any,  and  incapable  of  serving  any.  I  should  feel  myself  out 
of  my  true  place  too,  to  stand  before  McLurg.  But  why  with- 
draw yourself?  You  have  more  zeal,  more  application,  and  more 
constant  attention  to  the  subjects  proper  to  the  society,  and  can, 
therefore,  serve  them  best. 

The  affair  of  the  Emperor  and  Dutch  is  settled,  though  not 
signed.  The  particulars  have  not  yet  transpired.  That  of  the 
Bavarian  exchange  is  dropped,  and  his  views  on  Venice  defeated. 
The  alliance  of  Russia  with  Venice,  to  prevent  his  designs  in 
that  quarter,  and  that  of  the  Hanoverian  Elector  with  the  King 
of  Prussia  and  other  members  of  the  Germanic  body,  to  prevent 
his  acquisition  of  Bavaria,  leave  him  in  a  solitary  situation.  In 
truth,  he  has  lost  much  reputation  by  his  late  manosuvres.  He  is 
a  restless,  ambitious  character,  aiming  at  everything,  persevering 
in  nothing,  taking  up  designs  without  calculating  the  force  which 
will  be  opposed  to  him,  and  dropping  them  on  the  appearance  of 
firm  opposition.  He  has  some  just  views,  and  much  activity. 
The  only  quarter  in  which  the  peace  of  Europe  seems  at  present 
capable  of  being  disturbed,  is  on  that  of  the  Porte.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  Emperor  and  Empress  have  schemes  in  contem- 
plation, for  driving  the  Turks  out  of  Europe.  Were  this  with  a 
view  to  re-establish  the  native  Greeks  in  the  sovereignty  of  their 
own  country,  I  could  wish  them  success,  and  to  see  driven  from 
that  delightful  country  a  set  of  barbarians,  with  whom  an  oppo- 
sition to  all  science  is  an  article  of  religion.  The  modern  Greek 


CORRESPONDENCE.  401 

is  not  yet  so  far  departed  from  its  ancient  model,  but  that  we 
might  still  hope  to  see  the  language  of  Homer  and  Demosthenes 
flow  with  purity,  from  the  lips  of  a  free  and  ingenious  people. 
But  these  powers  have  in  object  to  divide  the  country  between 
themselves.  This  is  only  to  substitute  one  set  of  barbarians  for 
another,  breaking,  at  the  same  time,  the  balance  among  the  Eu- 
ropean powers.  You  have  been  told,  with  truth,  that  the  Em- 
peror of  Morocco  has  shown  a  disposition  to  enter  into  treaty 
with  us ;  but  not  truly,  that  Congress  has  not  attended  to  his  ad- 
vances, and  thereby  disgusted  him.  It  is  long  since  they  took 
measures  to  meet  his  advances.  But  some  unlucky  incidents 
have  delayed  their  effect.  His  dispositions  continue  good.  As 
a  proof  of  this,  he  has  lately  released  freely,  and  clothed  well, 
the  crew  of  an  American  brig  he  took  last  winter ;  the  only  ves- 
sel ever  taken  from  us  by  any  of  the  States  of  Barbary.  But 
what  is  the  English  of  these  good  dispositions?  Plainly  this ;  he 
is  ready  to  receive  us  into  the  number  of  his  tributaries.  What 
will  be  the  amount  of  tribute,  remains  yet  to  be  known,  but  it 
probably  will  not  be  as  small  as  you  may  have  conjectured.  It 
will  surely  be  more  than  a  free  people  ought  to  pay  to  a  power 
owning  only  four  or  five  frigates,  under  twenty-two  guns :  lie  has 
not  a  port  into  which  a  larger  vessel  can  enter.  The  Algerines 
possess  fifteen  or  twenty  frigates,  from  that  size  up  to  fifty  guns. 
Disinclination  on  their  part,  has  lately  broken  off  a  treaty  be- 
tween Spain  and  them,  whereon  they  were  to  have  received  a 
million  of  dollars,  besides  great  presents  in  naval  stores.  What 
sum  they  intend  we  shall  pay,  I  cannot  say.  Then  follow  Tunis 
and  Tripoli.  You  will  probably  find  the  tribute  to  all  these  pow- 
ers make  such  a  proportion  of  the  federal  taxes,  as  that  every  man 
will  feel  them  sensibly,  when  he  pays  those  taxes.  The  ques- 
tion is,  whether  their  peace  or  war  will  be  cheapest  ?  But  it  is  a 
question  which  should  be  addressed  to  our  honor,  as  well  as  our 
avarice.  IN  or  does  it  respect  us  as  to  these  pirates  only,  but  as  tc 
the  nations  of  Europe.  If  we  wish  our  commerce  to  be  free 
and  uninsulted,  we  must  let  these  nations  see,  that  we  have  an 
energy  which  at  present  they  disbelieve.  The  low  opinion  they 
VOL.  i.  23 


402  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

entertain  of  our  powers,  cannot  fail  to  involve  us  soon,  in  a 
naval  war. 

I  shall  send  you  with  this,  if  I  can,  and  if  not,  then  by  the 
first  good  conveyance,  the  Connoissance  de  terns  for  the  years 
1786  and  1787,  being  all  as  yet  published.  You  will  find  in 
these  the  tables  for  the  planet  Herschel,  as  far  as  the  observations 
hitherto  made,  admit  them  to  be  calculated.  You  will  see,  also, 
that  Herschel  was  only  the  first  astronomer  who  discovered  it  to 
be  a  planet,  and  not  the  first  who  saw  it.  Mayer  saw  it  in  the 
year  1756,  and  placed  it  in  the  catalogue  of  his  zodiacal  stars, 
supposing  it  to  be  such.  A  Prussian  astronomer,  in  the  year  1781, 
observed  that  the  964th  star  of  Mayer's  catalogue  was  missing  ; 
and  the  calculations  now  prove  that  at  the  time  Mayer  saw  his 
964th  star,  the  planet  Herschel  should  have  been  precisely  in  the 
place  where  he  noted  that  star.  I  shall  send  you  also  a  little 
publication  here,  called  the  Bibliotheque  Physico-ceconomique. 
It  will  communicate  all  the  improvements  and  new  discoveries 
in  the  arts  and  sciences,  made  in  Europe  for  some  years  past.  I 
shall  be  happy  to  hear  from  you  often.  Details,  political  and  lit- 
erary, and  even  of  the  small  history  of  our  country,  are  the  most 
pleasing  communications  possible.  Present  me  affectionately  to 
Mrs.  Page,  and  to  your  family,  in  the  members  of  which,  though 
unknown  to  me,  I  feel  an  interest  on  account  of  their  parents. 
Believe  me  to  be  with  warm  esteem,  dear  Page,  your  sincere 
friend  and  servant. 


TO    THE    GOVERNOR    OF    VIRGINIA. 

PARIS,  August  22,  1785. 

SIR, — I  was  honored  yesterday  with  your  Excellency's  letter 
of  June  the  16th,  enclosing  the  resolution  of  Assembly  relative 
to  the  bust  of  the  M.  de  La  Fayette.  I  shall  render  cheerfully 
any  services  I  can  in  aid  of  Mr.  Barclay  for  carrying  this  resolu- 
tion into  effect.  The  M.  de  La  Fayette  being  to  pass  into  Ger- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  403 

many  and  Prussia,  it  was  thought  proper  to  take  the  model  of 
his  bust  in  plaister  before  his  departure.  Monsieur  Houdon  was 
engaged  to  do  it,  and  did  it  accordingly.  So  far  Mr.  Barclay 
had  thought  himself  authorized  to  go  in  consequence  of  orders 
formerly  received.  You  will  be  so  good  as  to  instruct  me  as  to 
the  moneys  hereafter  to  be  remitted  to  me,  whether  I  am  to  ap- 
ply them  solely  to  the  statue  of  General  Washington,  or  to  that, 
and  the  Marquis's  bust  in  common,  as  shall  be  necessary.  Sup- 
posing you  wish  to  know  the  application  of  the  money's  remit- 
ted from  time  to  time,  I  state  hereon  an  account  thereof  so  far  as 
I  am  able  at  present.  Before  your  receipt  of  this  letter  I  am  in 
hopes  mine  of  July  llth,  by  Monsieur  Houdon,  will  have  come  to 
your  hands ;  in  that  I  enclosed  you  a  copy  of  the  contract  with  him. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  due  respect,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant, 

TH:  JEFFERSON. 


TO  JOHN  JAY. 

(Private.)  PARIS,  August  23,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  shall  sometimes  ask  your  permission  to  write 
you  letters,  not  official,  but  -private.  The  present  is  of  this  kind, 
and  is  occasioned  by  the  question  proposed  in  yours  of  June  the 
14th ;  "  whether  it  would  be  useful  to  us,  to  cany  all  our  own 
productions,  or  none  ?" 

Were  we  perfectly  free  to  decide  this  question,  I  should  reason 
as  follows.  We  have  now  lands  enough  to  employ  an  infinite 
number  of  people  in  their  cultivation.  Cultivators  of  the  earth 
are  the  most  valuable  citizens.  They  are  the  most  vigorous,  the 
most  independent,  the  most  virtuous,  and  they  are  tied  to  their 
country,  and  wedded  to  its  liberty  and  interests,  by  the  most 
lasting  bonds.  As  long,  therefore,  as  they  can  find  employment 
in  this  line,  I  would  not  convert  them  into  mariners,  artisans,  or 
anything  else.  But  our  citizens  will  find  employment  in  this 
line,  till  their  numbers,  and  of  course  their  productions,  become 


404  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

too  great  for  the  demand,  both  internal  and  foreign.  This  is  not 
the  case  as  yet,  and  probably  will  not  be  for  a  considerable  time. 
As  soon  as  it  is,  the  surplus  of  hands  must  be  turned  to  some- 
thing else.  I  should  then,  perhaps,  wish  to  turn  them  to  the  sea 
in  preference  to  manufactures ;  because,  comparing  the  charac- 
ters of  the  two  classes,  I  find  the  former  the  most  valuable  cit- 
izens. I  consider  the  class  of  artificers  as  the  panders  of  vice, 
and  the  instruments  by  which  the  liberties  of  a  country  are  gen- 
erally overturned.  However,  we  are  not  free  to  decide  this 
question  on  principles  of  theory  only.  Our  people  are  decided 
in  the  opinion,  that  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  take  a  share  in  the  oc- 
cupation of  the  ocean,  and  their  established  habits  induce  them  to 
require  that  the  sea  be  kept  open  to  them,  and  that  that  line  of 
policy  be  pursued,  which  will  render  the  use  of  that  element  to 
them  as  great  as  possible.  I  think  it  a  duty  in  those  entrusted 
with  the  administration  of  their  affairs,  to  conform  themselves  to 
the  decided  choice  of  their  constituents ;  and  that  therefore,  we 
should,  in  every  instance,  preserve  an  equality  of  right  to  them 
in  the  transportation  of  commodities,  in  the  right  of  fishing,  and 
in  the  other  uses  of  the  sea. 

But  what  will  be  the  consequence  ?  Frequent  wars  without  a 
doubt.  Their  property  will  be  violated  on  the  sea,  and  in  foreign 
ports,  their  persons  will  be  insulted,  imprisoned,  &c.,  for  pretended 
debts,  contracts,  crimes,  contraband,  &c.,  &c.  These  insults 
must  be  resented,  even  if  we  had  no  feelings,  yet  to  prevent  their 
eternal  repetition;  or,  in  other  words,  our  commerce  on  the 
ocean  and  in  other  countries,  must  be  paid  for  by  frequent  war. 
The  justest  dispositions  possible  in  ourselves,  will  not  secure  us 
against  it.  It  would  be  necessary  that  all  other  nations  were 
just  also.  Justice  indeed,  on  our  part,  will  save  us  from  those 
wars  which  would  have  been  produced  by  a  contrary  disposition. 
But  how  can  we  prevent  those  produced  by  the  wrongs  of  other 
nations  ?  By  putting  ourselves  in  a  condition  to  punish  them. 
Weakness  provokes  insult  and  injury,  while  a  condition  to  punish, 
often  prevents  them.  This  reasoning  leads  to  the  necessity  of 
some  naval  force  ;  that  being  the  only  weapon  by  which  we  can 


CORRESPONDENCE.  405 

reach  an  enemy.  I  think  it  to  our  interest  to  punish  the  first  in- 
sult ;  because  an  insult  unpunished  is  the  parent  of  many  others. 
We  are  not,  at  this  moment,  in  a  condition  to  do  it,  hut  we 
should  put  ourselves  into  it,  as  soon  as  possible.  If  a  war  with 
England  should  take  place,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  first  thing 
necessary  would  be  a  resolution  to  abandon  the  carrying  trade, 
because  we  cannot  protect  it.  Foreign  nations  must,  in  that 
case,  be  invited  to  bring  us  what  we  want,  and  to  take  our  pro- 
ductions in  their  own  bottoms.  This  alone  could  prevent  the 
loss  of  those  productions  to  us,  and  the  acquisition  of  them  to 
our  enemy.  Our  seamen  might  be  employed  in  depredations  on 
their  trade.  But  how  dreadfully  we  shall  suffer  on  our  coasts, 
if  we  have  no  force  on  the  water,  former  experience  has  taught 
us.  Indeed,  I  look  forward  with  horror  to  the  very  possible  case 
of  war  with  an  European  power,  and  think  there  is  no  protection 
against  them,  but  from  the  possession  of  some  force  on  the  sea. 
Our  vicinity  to  their  West  India  possessions,  and  to  the  fisheries, 
is  a  bridle  which  a  small  naval  force,  on  our  part,  would  hold  in 
the  mouths  of  the  most  powerful  of  these  countries.  I  hope 
our  land  office  will  rid  us  of  our  debts,  and  that  our  first  atten- 
tion then,  will  be,  to  the  beginning  a  naval  force  of  some  sort. 
This  alone  can  countenance  our  people  as  carriers  on  the  water, 
and  I  suppose  them  to  be  determined  to  continue  such. 

I  wrote  you  two  public  letters  on  the  14th  instant,  since  which 
I  have  received  yours  of  July  the  13th.  I  shall  always  be 
pleased  to  receive  from  you,  in  a  private  way,  such  communica- 
tions as  you  might  not  choose  to  put  into  a  public  letter. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  very  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir, 
your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    COLONEL    MONROE. 

PARIS  August  28,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  you  on  the  5th  of  July,  by  Mr.  Franklin, 
and  on   the   12th  of  the  same   month,  by  Monsieur  Houdon. 


406  JEFFEKSON'S   WORKS. 

Since  that  date,  yours  of  June  the  16th,  by  Mazzei,  has  been 
received.  Everything  looks  like  peace  here.  The  settlement 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  Dutch  is  not  yet  published,  but  it 
is  believed  to  be  agreed  on.  Nothing  is  done,  as  yet,  between 
him  and  the  Porte.  He  is  much  wounded  by  the  confederation 
of  several  of  the  Germanic  body,  at  the  head  of  which  is  the 
King  of  Prussia,  and  to  which  the  King  of  England,  as  Elector 
of  Hanover,  is  believed  to  accede.  The  object  is  to  preserve  the 
constitution  of  that  empire.  It  shows  that  these  princes  enter- 
tain serious  jealousies  of  the  ambition  of  the  Emperor,  and  this 
will  very  much  endanger  the  election  of  his  nephew  as  King  of 
the  Romans.  A  late  Arret  of  this  court  against  the  admission 
of  British  manufactures  produces  a  great  sensation  in  England. 
I  wish  it  may  produce  a  disposition  there  to  receive  our  com- 
merce in  all  their  dominions,  on  advantageous  terms.  This  is 
the  only  balm  which  can  heal  the  wounds  that  it  has  received. 
It  is  but  too  true,  that  that  country  furnished  markets  for  three- 
fourths  of  the  exports  of  the  eight  northern-most  States.  A 
truth  not  proper  to  be  spoken  of,  but  which  should  influence  our 
proceedings  with  them. 

The  July  French  packet  having  arrived  without  bringing  any 
news  of  Mr.  Lambe,  if  the  English  one  of  the  same  month  be 
also  arrived,  without  news  of  him,  I  expect  Mr.  Adams  will  con- 
cur with  me  in  sending  some  other  person  to  treat  with  the  Bar- 
bary  States.  Mr.  Barclay  is  willing  to  go,  and  I  have  proposed 
him  to  Mr.  Adams,  but  have  not  yet  received  his  answer.  The 
peace  expected  between  Spain  and  Algiers,  will  probably  not 
take  place.  It  is  said,  the  former  was  to  have  given  a  million 
of  dollars.  Would  it  not  be  prudent  to  send  a  minister  to  Portu- 
gal ?  Our  commerce  with  that  country  is  very  important ;  per- 
haps more  so  than  with  any  other  country  in  Europe.  It  is  pos- 
sible, too,  that  they  might  permit  our  whaling  vessels  to  refresh 
in  Brazil,  or  give  some  other  indulgences  in  America.  The 
lethargic  character  of  their  ambassador  here  gives  a  very  un- 
hopeful aspect  to  a  treaty  on  this  ground.  I  lately  spoke  with 


CORRESPONDENCE.  407 

him  on  the  subject,  and  he  has  promised  to  interest  himself  in 
obtaining  an  answer  from  his  court. 

I  have  waited  to  see  what  was  the  pleasure  of  Congress,  as  to 
the  secretaryship  of  my  office  here  ;  that  is,  to  see  whether  they 
proposed  to  appoint  a  secretary  of  legation,  or  leave  me  to  ap- 
point a  private  secretary.  Colonel  Humphreys'  occupation  in 
the  despatches  and  records  of  the  matters  which  relate  to  the 
general  commissions,  does  not  afford  him  leisure  to  aid  me  in  my 
office,  were  I  entitled  to  ask  that  aid.  In  the  meantime,  the 
long  papcrs,which  often  accompany  the  communications  between 
the  ministers  here,  and  myself,  and  the  other  business  of  the 
office,  absolutely  require  a  scribe.  I  shall,  therefore,  on  Mr. 
Short's  return  from  the  Hague,  appoint  him  my  private  secretary, 
till  Congress  shall  think  proper  to  signify  their  pleasure.  The 
salary  allowed  Mr.  Franklin  in  the  same  office,  was  one  thousand 
dollars  a  year.  I  shall  presume  that  Mr.  Short  may  draw  the 
same  allowance  from  the  funds  of  the  United  States  here.  As 
soon  as  I  shall  have  made  this  appointment,  I  shall  give  official 
notice  of  it  to  Mr.  Jay,  that  Congress  may,  if  they  disapprove  it, 
say  so. 

I  am  much  pleased  with  your  land  ordinance,  and  think  it  im- 
proved from  the  first,  in  the  most  material  circumstances.  I  had 
mistaken  the  object  of  the  division  of  the  lands  among  the  States. 
I  am  sanguine  in  my  expectations  of  lessening  our  debts  by  this 
fund,  and  have  expressed  my  expectations  to  the  minister  and 
others  here.  I  see  by  the  public  papers,  you  have  adopted  the 
dollar  as  your  money  unit.  In  the  arrangement  of  coins  I  pro- 
posed, I  ought  to  have  inserted  a  gold  coin  of  five  dollars,  which, 
being  within  two  shillings  of  the  value  of  a  guinea,  would  be 
very  convenient. 

The  English  papers  are  so  incessantly  repeating  their  lies  about 
the  tumults,  the  anarchy,  the  bankruptcies  and  distresses  of  Ame- 
rica, that  these  ideas  prevail  very  generally  in  Europe.  At  a  large 
table  where  I  dined  the  other  day,  a  gentleman  from  Switzerland 
expressed  his  apprehensions  for  the  fate  of  Dr.  Franklin,  as  he 
said  he  had  been  informed,  that  he  would  be  received  with  stones 


408  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

by  the  people,  who  were  generally  dissatisfied  with  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  incensed  against  all  those  who  had  assisted  in  bringing 
it  about.  I  told  him  his  apprehensions  were  just,  and  that  the 
people  of  America  would  probably  salute  Dr.  Franklin  with  the 
same  stones  they  had  thrown  at  the  Marquis  Fayette.  The  re- 
ception of  the  Doctor  is  an  object  of  very  general  attention,  and 
will  weigh  in  Europe,  as  an  evidence  of  the  satisfaction  or  dis- 
satisfaction of  America,  with  their  Revolution.  As  you  are  to 
be  in  Williamsburg  early  in  November,  this  is  the  last  letter  I 
shall  write  you  till  about  that  time. 

I  am,   with  very  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and 
servant. 


TO    JOHN    JAY. 

PARIS,  August  30,  1785. 

SIR, — I  had  the  honor  of  writing  to  you  on  the  14th  instant, 
by  a  Mr.  Cannon  of  Connecticut,  who  was  to  sail  in  the  packet. 
Since  that  date,  yours  of  July  13th  has  come  to  hand.  The 
times  for  the  sailing  of  the  packets  being  somewhat  deranged,  I 
avail  myself  of  a  conveyance  for  the  present,  by  the  Mr.  Fitz- 
hughs  of  Virginia,  who  expect  to  land  at  Philadelphia. 

I  enclose  you  a  correspondence  which  has  taken  place  between 
the  Marechal  de  Castries,  minister  of  the  Marine,  and  myself.  It 
is  on  the  subject  of  the  prize  money  due  to  the  officers  and  crew 
of  the  Alliance,  for  prizes  taken  in  Europe,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Jones.  That  officer  has  been  here,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Congress,  near  two  years,  soliciting  the  liquidation  and 
payment  of  that  money.  Infinite  delays  had  retarded  the  liqui- 
dation till  the  month  of  June.  It  was  expected,  when  the  liqui- 
dation was  announced  to  be  completed,  that  the  money  was  to  be 
received.  The  M.  de  Castries  doubted  the  authority  of  Captain 
Jones  to  receive  it,  and  wrote  to  me  for  information.  I  wrote 
him  the  leter  dated  July  the  10th,  which  seemed  to  clear  away 


CORRESPONDENCE.  409 

that  difficulty.  Another  arose.  A  Mr.  Puchilberg  presented 
powers  to  receive  the  money.  I  wrote,  then,  the  letter  of  August 
the  3d,  and  received  that  of  the  M.  de  Castries,  of  August  the 
12th,  acknowledging  he  was  satisfied  as  to  this  difficulty,  but  an- 
nouncing another ;  to  wit?  that  possibly  some  French  subjects 
might  have  been  on  board  the  Alliance,  and,  therefore,  that  Cap- 
tain Jones  ought  to  give  security  for  the  repayment  of  their  por- 
tions. Captain  Jones  had  before  told  me  there  was  not  a  French- 
man on  board  that  vessel,  but  the  Captain.  I  inquired  of  Mr. 
Barclay.  He  told  me  he  was  satisfied  there  was  not  one.  Here 
then,  was  a  mere  possibility,  a  shadow  of  a  right,  opposed  to  a 
certain,  to  a  substantial  one  which  existed  in  the  mass  of  the 
crew,  and  which  was  likely  to  be  delayed ;  for  it  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  Captain  Jones  could,  in  a  strange  country,  find  the 
security  required.  These  difficulties  I  suppose  to  have  been  con- 
jured up,  one  after  another,  by  Mr.  Puchilberg,  who  wanted  to 
get  hold  of  the  money.  I  saw  but  one  way  to  cut  short  these 
everlasting  delays,  which  were  ruining  the  officer  soliciting  the 
payment  of  the  money,  and  keeping  our  seamen  out  of  what 
they  had  hardly  fought  for,  years  ago.  This  was,  to  undertake 
to  ask  an  order  from  Congress,  for  the  payment  of  any  French 
claimants  by  their  banker  in  Paris  ;  and,  in  the  meantime,  to  un- 
dertake to  order  such  payment,  should  any  such  claimant  prove 
his  title,  before  the  pleasure  of  Congress  should  be  made  known 
to  me.  I  consulted  with  Mr.  Barclay,  who  seemed  satisfied  I 
might  venture  this  undertaking,  because  no  such  claim  could  be 
presented.  I  therefore  wrote  the  letter  of  August  the  17th,  and 
received  that  of  August  the  26th,  finally  closing  this  tedious 
business.  Should  what  I  have  done  not  meet  the  approbation 
of  Congress,  I  would  pray  their  immediate  sense,  because  it  is 
not  probable  that  the  whole  of  this  money  will  be  paid  so  hastily, 
but  that  their  orders  may  arrive  in  time,  to  stop  a  sufficiency  for 
any  French  claimants  who  may  possibly  exist.  The  following 
paragraph  of  a  letter  from  Captain  Jones,  dated  L'Orient,  August 
the  25th,  1785,  further  satisfies  me  that  my  undertaking  amounted 
to  nothing  in  fact.  He  says,  "  it  is  impossible  that  any  legal  de- 


410  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

mands  should  be  made  on  you  for  French  subjects,  in  consequence 
of  your  engagement  to  the  Marechal.  The  Alliance  was  manned 
in  America,  and  I  never  heard  of  any  persons  having  served  on 
board  that  frigate,  who  had  been  born  in  France,  except  the  cap- 
tain, who,  as  I  was  informed,  had,  in  America,  abjured  the  church 
of  Rome,  and  been  naturalized."  Should  Congress  approve 
what  I  have  done,  I  will  then  ask  their  resolution  for  the  pay- 
ment, by  their  banker  here,  of  any  such  claims  as  may  be  prop- 
erly authenticated,  and  will  moreover  pray  of  you  an  authentic 
roll  of  the  crew  of  the  Alliance,  with  the  sums  to  be  allowed  to 
each  person ;  on  the  subject  of  which  roll,  Captain  Jones,  in  the 
letter  above  mentioned,  says,  "  I  carried  a  set  of  the  rolls  with 
me  to  America,  and,  before  I  embarked  in  the  French  fleet  at 
Boston,  I  put  them  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Secretary  Livingston, 
and  they  were  sealed  up  among  the  papers  of  his  office  when  I 
left  America."  I  think  it  possible  that  Mr.  Puchilberg  may  excite 
claims.  Should  any  name  be  offered  which  shall  not  be  found  on 
the  roll,  it  will  be  a  sufficient  disproof  of  the  pretension.  Should 
it  be  found  on  the  roll,  it  will  remain  to  prove  the  identity  of 
person,  and  to  inquire  if  payment  may  not  have  been  made  in 
America.  I  conjecture,  from  the  journals  of  Congress  of  June 
2d,  that  Landais,  who,  I  believe,  was  the  captain,  may  be  in 
America.  As  his  portion  of  the  prize  may  be  considerable,  I 
hope  it  will  be  settled  in  America,  where  only  it  can  be  known 
whether  any  advances  have  been  made  him. 

The  person  at  the  head  of  the  post  office  here  says,  he  pro- 
posed to  Dr.  Franklin  a  convention  to  facilitate  the  passage  of 
letters  through  their  office  and  ours,  and  that  he  delivered  a  draught 
of  the  convention  proposed,  that  it  might  be  sent  to  Congress.  I 
think  it  possible  he  may  be  mistaken  in  this,  as,  on  my  mention- 
ing it  to  Dr.  Franklin,  he  did  not  recollect  any  such  draught 
having  been  put  into  his  hands.  An  answer,  however,  is  expected 
by  them.  I  mention  it,  that  Congress  may  decide  whether  they 
will  make  any  convention  on  the  subject,  and  on  what  principle. 
The  one  proposed  here  was,  that,  for  letters  passing  hence  into 
America,  the  French  postage  should  be  collected  by  our  post 


CORRESPONDENCE.  411 

officers,  and  paid  every  six  months,  and  for  letters  coming  from 
America  here,  the  American  postage  should  be  collected  by  the 
post  officers  here,  and  paid  to  us  in  like  manner.  A  second  plan, 
however,  presents  itself ;  that  is,  to  suppose  the  sums  to  be  thus 
collected,  on  each  side,  will  be  equal,  or  so  nearly  equal,  that  the 
balance  will  not  pay  for  the  trouble  of  keeping  accounts,  and  for 
the  little  bickerings  that  the  settlement  of  accounts,  and  demands 
of  the  balances,  may  occasion ;  and  therefore,  to  make  an  ex- 
change of  postage.  This  would  better  secure  our  harmony ;  but 
I  do  not  know  that  it  would  be  agreed  to  here.  If  not,  the  other 
might  then  be  agreed  to. 

I  have  waited  hitherto,  supposing  that  Congress  might,  possi- 
bly, appoint  a  secretary  to  the  legation  here,  or  signify  their 
pleasure  that  I  should  appoint  a  private  secretary,  to  aid  me  in 
my  office.  The  communication  between  the  ministers  and  my- 
self, requiring  often  that  many  and  long  papers  should  be  copied, 
and  that,  in  a  shorter  time  than  could  be  done  by  myself,  were  I 
otherwise  unoccupied,  other  correspondences  and  proceedings,  of 
all  which  copies  must  be  retained,  and  still  more  the  necessity  of 
having  some  confidential  person,  who,  in  case  of  any  accident  to 
myself,  might  be  authorized  to  take  possession  of  the  instructions, 
letters,  and  other  papers  of  the  office,  have  rendered  it  absolutely 
necessary  for  me  to  appoint  a  private  secretary.  Colonel  Hum- 
phreys finds  full  occupation,  and  often  more  than  he  can  do,  in 
writing  and  recording  the  despatches  and  proceedings  of  the  gen- 
eral commissions.  I  shall,  therefore,  appoint  Mr.  Short,  on  his  re- 
turn from  the  Hague,  with  an  express  condition,  that  the  appoint- 
ment shall  cease  whenever  Congress  shall  think  proper  to  make 
any  other  arrangement.  He  will,  of  course,  expect  the  allow- 
ance heretofore  made  to  the  private  secretaries  of  the  ministers, 
which,  I  believe,  has  been  a  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

[An  improvement  is  made  here  in  the  construction  of  muskets, 
which  it  may  be  interesting  to  Congress  to  know,  should  they  at 
any  time  propose  to  procure  any.  It  consists  in  the  making  every 
part  of  them  so  exactly  alike,  that  what  belongs  to  any  one,  may 
be  used  for  every  other  musket  in  the  magazine.  The  govern- 


412  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

merit  here  has  examined  and  approved  the  method,  and  is  estab- 
lishing a  large  manufactory  for  the  purpose  of  putting  it  into  exe- 
cution. As  yet,  the  inventor  has  only  completed  the  lock  of  the 
musket,  on  this  plan.  He  will  proceed  immediately  to  have  the 
barrel,  stock,  and  other  parts,  executed  in  the  same  way.  Sup- 
posing it  might  be  useful  in  the  United  States,  I  went  to  the 
workman.  He  presented  me  the  parts  of  fifty  locks  taken  to 
pieces,  and  arranged  in  compartments.  I  put  several  together 
myself,  taking  pieces  at  hazard  as  they  came  to  hand,  and  they 
fitted  in  the  most  perfect  manner.  The  advantages  of  this,  when 
arms  need  repair,  are  evident.  He  effects  it  by  tools  of  his  own 
contrivance,  which,  at  the  same  time,  abridge  the  work,  so  that  he 
thinks  he  shall  be  able  to  furnish  the  musket  two  livres  cheaper  than 
the  common  price.  But  it  will  be  two  or  three  years  before  he  will 
be  able  to  furnish  any  quantity.  I  mention  it  now,  as  it  may  have 
an  influence  on  the  plan  for  furnishing  our  magazines  with  this  anrTJ 
Everything  in  Europe  remains  as  when  I  wrote  you  last.  The 
peace  between  Spain  and  Algiers  has  the  appearance  of  being 
broken  off.  The  French  packet  having  arrived  without  Mr. 
Lambe.  or  any  news  of  him,  I  await  Mr.  Adams's  acceding  to  the 
proposition  mentioned  in  my  last.  I  send  you  the  gazettes  of 
Leyden  and  France  to  this  date,  and  have  the  honor  to  be,  with 
the  highest  respect  and  esteem,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    JAMES    MADISON. 


PARIS,  September  1,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — My  last  to  you  by  Monsieur  de  Doradour  was 
dated  May  the  llth.  Since  that,  I  have  received  yours  of  Janu- 
ary the  22d,  with  six  copies  of  the  revisal,  and  that  of  April  the 
27th,  by  Mr.  Mazzei. 

All  is  quiet  here.  The  Emperor  and  Dutch  have  certainly 
agreed,  though  they  have  not  published  their  agreement.  Most 
of  his  schemes  in  Germany  must  be  postponed,  if  they  are  not 


CORRESPONDENCE.  413 

prevented  by  the  confederacy  of  many  of  the  Germanic  body, 
at  the  head  of  which  is  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  to  which  the 
Elector  of  Hanover  is  supposed  to  have  acceded.  The  object 
of  the  league  is  to  preserve  the  members  of  the  empire  in  their 
present  state.  I  doubt  whether  the  jealousy  entertained  of  this 
prince,  and  which  is  so  fully  evidenced  by  this  league,  may  not 
defeat  the  election  of  his  nephew  to  be  King  of  the  Romans, 
and  thus  produce  an  instance  of  breaking  the  lineal  succession. 
Nothing  is  as  yet  done  between  him  and  the  Turks.  If  any- 
thing is  produced  in  that  quarter,  it  will  not  be  for  this  year. 
The  court  of  Madrid  has  obtained  the  delivery  of  the  crew  of 
the  brig  Betsey,  taken  by  the  Emperor  of  Morocco.  The  Em- 
peror had  treated  them  kindly,  new  clothed  them,  and  delivered 
them  to  the  Spanish  minister,  who  sent  them  to  Cadiz.  This  is 
the  only  American  vessel  ever  taken  by  the  Barbary  States. 
The  Emperor  continues  to  give  proofs  of  his  desire  to  be  in 
friendship  with  us,  or,  in  other  words,  of  receiving  us  into  the 
number  of  his  tributaries.  Nothing  further  need  be  feared  from 
him.  I  wish  the  Algerines  may  be  as  easily  dealt  with.  I  fancy 
the  peace  expected  between  them  and  Spain  is  not  likely  to  take 
place.  I  am  well  informed  that  the  late  proceedings  in  America, 
have  produced  a  wonderful  sensation  in  England  in  our  favor. 
I  mean  the  disposition  which  seems  to  be  becoming  general,  to 
invest  Congress  with  the  regulation  of  our  commerce,  and,  in  the 
meantime,  the  measures  taken  to  defeat  the  avidity  of  the  British 
government  grasping  at  our  carrying  business.  I  can  add  with 
truth,  that  it  was  not  till  these  symptoms  appeared  in  America 
that  I  have  been  able  to  discover  the  smallest  token  of  respect 
towards  the  United  States  in  any  part  of  Europe.  There  was 
an  enthusiasm  towards  us  all  over  Europe  at  the  moment  of  the 
peace.  The  torrent  of  lies  published  unremittingly  in  every 
day's  London  paper  first  made  an  impression  and  produced  a 
coolness.  The  republication  of  these  lies  in  most  of  the  papers 
of  Europe,  (done  probably  by  authority  of  the  governments  to 
discourage  emigrations,)  carried  them  home  to  the  belief  of  every 
mind.  They  supposed  everything  in  America  was  anarchy,  tu- 


414  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

mult,  and  civil  war.  The  reception  of  the  Marquis  Fayette  gave 
a  check  to  these  ideas.  The  late  proceedings  seem  to  be  pro- 
ducing a  decisive  vibration  in  our  favor.  I  think  it  possible  that 
England  may  ply  before  them.  It  is  a  nation  which  nothing 
but  views  of  interest  can  govern.  If  they  produce  us  good 
there,  they  will  here  also.  The  defeat  of  the  Irish  propositions 
is  also  in  our  favor. 

I  have  at  length  made  up  the  purchase  of  books  for  you  as  far 
as  it  can  be  done  at  present.  The  objects  which  I  have  not  yet 
been  able  to  get  I  shall  continue  to  seek  for.  Those  purchased 
are  packed  this  morning  in  two  trunks,  and  you  have  the  cata- 
logue and  prices  herein  enclosed.  The  future  charges  of  trans- 
portation shall  be  carried  into  the  next  bill.  The  amount  of  the 
present  is  1154  livres  13  sous,  which,  reckoning  the  French 
crown  of  six  livres  at  six  shillings  and  eight  pence  Virginia 
money,  is  £64,  3s.,  which  sum  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  keep  in 
your  hands,  to  be  used  occasionally  in  the  education  of  my 
nephews  when  the  regular  resources  disappoint  you.  To  the 
same  use  I  would  pray  you  to  apply  twenty-rive  guineas  which 
I  have  lent  the  two  Mr.  Fitzhughs  of  Marmion,  and  which  I 
have  desired  them  to  repay  into  your  hands.  You  will  of  course 
deduct  the  price  of  the  revisals,  and  of  any  other  articles  you 
may  have  been  so  kind  as  to  pay  for  me.  Greek  and  Roman 
authors  are  dearer  here  than  I  believe  anywhere  in  the  world. 
Nobody  here  reads  them,  wherefore  they  are  not  reprinted.  Don 
Ulloa,  in  the  original,  is  not  to  be  found.  The  collection  of 
tracts  on  the  economies  of  different  nations  we  cannot  find,  nor 
Amelot's  travels  into  China.  I  shall  send  these  two  trunks  of 
books  to  Havre,  there  to  wait  a  conveyance  to  America ;  for  as 
to  the  fixing  the  packets  there,  it  is  as  uncertain  as  ever.  The 
other  articles  you  mention  shall  be  procured  as  far  as  they  can 
be.  Knowing  that  some  of  them  would  be  better  got  in  Lon- 
don, I  commissioned  Mr.  Short,  who  was  going  there,  to  get 
them.  He  has  not  yet  returned.  They  will  be  of  such  a  nature 
as  that  I  can  get  some  gentleman  who  may  be  going  to  America 
to  take  them  in  his  portmanteau.  Le  Maire  being  now  able  to 


CORRESPONDENCE.  415 

stand  on  his  legs,  there  will  be  no  necessity  for  your  advanc- 
ing him  the  money  I  desired,  if  it  is  not  already  done.  I  am 
anxious  to  hear  from  you  on  the  subject  of  my  Notes  on  Vir- 
ginia. I  have  been  obliged  to  give  so  many  of  them  here  that 
I  fear  their  getting  published.  I  have  received  an  application 
from  the  Directors  of  the  public  buildings,  to  procure  them  a  plan 
for  their  capitol.  I  shall  send  them  one  taken  from  the  best  mor- 
sel of  ancient  architecture  now  remaining.  It  has  obtained  the 
approbation  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  centuries,  and  is  therefore  pre- 
ferable to  any  design  which  might  be  newly  contrived.  It  will 
give  more  room,  be  more  convenient,  and  cost  less,  than  the  plan 
they  sent  me.  Pray  encourage  them  to  wait  for  it,  and  to  exe- 
cute it.  It  will  be  superior  in  beauty  to  anything  in  America, 
and  not  inferior  to  anything  in  the  world.  It  is  very  simple. 
Have  you  a  copying  press  ?  If  you  have  not,  you  should  get 
one.  Mine  (exclusive  of  paper,  which  costs  a  guinea  a  ream) 
has  cost  me  about  fourteen  guineas.  I  would  give  ten  times  that 
sum  to  have  had  it  from  the  date  of  the  stamp  act.  I  hope  you 
will  be  so  good  as  to  continue  your  communications,  both  of  the 
great  and  small  kind,  which  are  equally  useful  to  me.  Be  as- 
sured of  the  sincerity  with  which  I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    MESSRS.    DUMAS    AND    SHORT. 

PARTS,  September  1,  1785. 

GENTLEMEN, — I  have  been  duly  honored  with  the  receipt  of 
your  separate  letters  of  August  23d,  and  should  sooner  have  re- 
turned an  answer  ;  but  that  as  you  had  written  also  to  Mr.  Adams, 
I  thought  it  possible  I  might  receive  his  sentiments  on  the  subject 
in  time  for  the  post.  Not  thinking  it  proper  to  lose  the  occasion 
of  the  post,  I  have  concluded  to  communicate  to  you  my  sepa- 
rate sentiments,  which  you  will  of  course  pay  attention  to  only 
so  far  as  they  may  concur  with  what  you  shall  receive  from  Mr. 
Adams. 


416  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

On  a  review  of  our  letters  to  the  Baron  de  Thulemeyer,  I  do 
not  find  that  we  had  proposed  that  the  treaty  should  be  in  two 
columns,  the  one  English,  and  the  other  what  he  should  think 
proper.  We  certainly  intended  to  have  proposed  it.  We  had 
agreed  together  that  it  should  be  an  article  of  system  with  us, 
and  the  omission  of  it  in  this  instance  has  been  accidental.  My 
own  opinion,  therefore,  is,  that  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  urging 
new  propositions  when  everything  appeared  to  be  arranged,  we 
should  agree  to  consider  the  French  column  as  the  original,  if 
the  Baron  de  Thulemeyer  thinks  himself  bound  to  insist  on  it ; 
but, if  the  practice  of  his  court  will  admit  of  the  execution  in 
the  two  languages,  each  to  be  considered  as  equally  original,  it 
would  be  very  pleasing  to  me,  as  it  will  accommodate  it  to  our 
views,  relieve  us  from  the  embarrassment  of  this  precedent, 
which  may  be  urged  against  us  on  other  occasions,  and  be  more 
agreeable  to  our  country,  where  the  French  language  is  spoken 
by  very  few.  This  method  will  also  be  attended  with  the  ad- 
vantage, that  if  any  expression  in  any  part  of  the  treaty  is 
equivocal  in  the  one  language,  its  true  sense  will  be  known  by 
the  corresponding  passage  in  the  other. 

The  errors  of  the  copyist  in  the  French  column  you  will  cor- 
rect of  course. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  very  high  esteem,  Gentlemen, 
your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  September  4,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — On  receipt  of  your  favors  of  August  the  18th  and 
23d,  I  conferred  with  Mr.  Barclay  on  the  measures  necessary  to 
be  taken,  to  set  our  treaty  with  the  piratical  States  into  motion, 
through  his  agency.  Supposing  that  we  should  begin  with  the 
Emperor  of  Morocco,  a  letter  to  the  Emperor  and  instructions  to 
Mr.  Barclay,  seemed  necessary.  I  have  therefore  sketched  such 


CORRESPONDENCE.  417 

outlines  for  these,  as  appear  to  me  to  be  proper.  You  will  be  so 
good  as  to  detract,  add  to,  or  alter  them  as  you  please,  to  return 
such  as  you  approve  under  your  signature,  to  which  I  will  add 
mine.  A  person  understanding  English,  French,  and  Italian, 
and  at  the  same  time  meriting  confidence,  was  not  to  be  met  with 
here.  Colonel  Franks,  understanding  the  two  first  languages 
perfectly,  and  a  little  Spanish  instead  of  Italian,  occurred  to  Mr. 
Barclay  as  the  fittest  person  he  could  employ  for  a  secretary. 
We  think  his  allowance  (exclusive  of  his  travelling  expenses  and 
his  board,  which  will  be  paid  by  Mr.  Barclay  in  common  with 
his  own)  should  be  between  one  hundred,  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty  guineas  a  year.  Fix  it  where  you  please,  between  these 
limits.  What  is  said  in  the  instructions  to  Mr.  Barclay  as  to  his 
own  allowance,  was  proposed  by  himself.  My  idea  as  to  the 
partition  of  the  whole  sum  to  which  we  are  limited  (eighty  thou- 
sand dollars),  was,  that  one  half  of  it  should  be  kept  in  reserve 
for  the  Algerines.  They  certainly  possess  more  than  half  of  the 
whole  power  of  the  piratical  States.  I  thought  then,  that  Mo- 
rocco might  claim  the  half  of  the  remainder,  that  is  to  say,  one- 
fourth  of  the  whole.  For  this  reason,  in  the  instructions,  I  pro- 
pose twenty  thousand  dollars  as  the  limit  of  the  expenses  of  the 
Morocco  treaty.  Be  so  good  as  to  think  of  it,  and  make  it  what 
you  please.  I  should  be  more  disposed  to  enlarge  than  abridge 
it,  on  account  of  their  neighborhood  to  our  Atlantic  trade.  I 
did  not  think  that  these  papers  should  be  trusted  through  the 
post  'office,  and,  therefore,  as  Colonel  Franks  is  engaged  in  the 
business,  he  comes  with  them.  Passing  by  the  diligence,  the 
whole  expense  will  not  exceed  twelve  or  fourteen  guineas.  I 
suppose  we  are  bound  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  co-operation  of 
France.  I  will  join  you,  therefore,  in  any  letter  you  think  pro- 
per to  write  to  the  Count  de  Vergennes.  Would  you  think  it 
expedient  to  write  to  Mr.  Carmichael,  to  interest  the  interposition 
of  the  Spanish  court  ?  I  will  join  you  in  anything  of  this  kind 
you  will  originate.  In  short,  be  so  good  as  to  supply  whatever 
you  may  think  necessary.  With  respect  to  the  money,  Mr.  Jay's 
information  to  you  was,  that  it  was  to  be  drawn  from  Holland. 
VOL.  i.  27 


JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

It  wi '  rest,  therefore,  with  you,  to  avail  Mr.  Barclay  of  that  fund, 
either  by  your  draft,  or  by  a  letter  of  credit  to  the  bankers  in 
his  favor,  to  the  necessary  amount.  I  imagine  the  Dutch  con- 
sul at  Morocco  may  be  rendered  an  useful  character,  in  the  re- 
mittances of  money  to  Mr.  Barclay  while  at  Morocco. 

You  were  apprised,  by  a  letter  from  Mr.  Short,  of  the  delay 
which  had  arisen  in  the  execution  of  the  treaty  with  Prussia.  I 
wrote  a  separate  letter,  of  which  I  enclose  you  a  copy,  hoping  it 
would  meet  one  from  you,  and  set  them  again  into  motion. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  dear  Sir,  your 
most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


[The  following  are  the  sketches  of  the  letter  to  the  Emperor 
of  Morocco,  and  of  the  instructions  to  Mr.  Barclay,  referred  to  in 
the  preceding  letter.] 

HEADS  FOR  A  LETTER  TO  THE  EMPEROR  OF  MOROCCO. 

That  the  United  States  of  America,  heretofore  connected  m 
government  with  Great  Britain,  had  found  it  necessary  for  their 
happiness  to  separate  from  her,  and  to  assume  an  independent 
station. 

That,  consisting  of  a  number  of  separate  States,  they  had 
confederated  together,  and  placed  the  sovereignty  of  the  whole, 
in  matters  relating  to  foreign  nations,  in  a  body  consisting  of 
delegates  from  every  State,  and  called  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States. 

That  Great  Britain  had  solemnly  confirmed  their  separation, 
and  acknowledged  their  independence. 

That  after  the  conclusion  of  the  peace,  which  terminated  the 
war  in  which  they  had  been  engaged  for  the  establishment  of 
their  independence,  the  first  attentions  of  Congress  were  neces- 
sarily engrossed  by  the  re-establishment  of  order  and  regular  gov- 
ernment. 

That  they  had,  as  soon  as  possible,  turned  their  attention  to 
foreign  nations,  and,  desirous  of  entering  into  amity  and  com- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  419 

merce  with  them,  had  been  pleased  to  appoint  us  with  Dr.  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  to  execute  such  treaties  for  this  purpose,  as 
should  be  agreed  on  by  such  nations,  with  us,  or  any  two  of  us. 

That  Dr.  Franklin  having  found  it  necessary  to  return  to 
America,  the  execution  of  these  several  commissions  had  de- 
volved on  us. 

That  being  placed  as  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  for  the  United 
States  at  the  courts  of  England  and  France  ;  this  circumstance, 
with  the  commissions  with  which  we  are  charged  for  entering 
into  treaties  with  various  other  nations,  puts  it  out  of  our  power 
to  attend  at  the  other  courts  in  person,  and  obliges  us  to  nego- 
tiate by  the  intervention  of  confidential  persons. 

That,  respecting  the  friendly  dispositions  shown  by  his  Ma- 
jesty, the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  towards  the  United  States,  and 
indulging  the  desire  of  forming  a  connection  with  a  sovereign 
so  renowned  for  his  power,  his  wisdom,  and  his  justice,  we  had 
embraced  the  first  moment  possible,  of  assuring  him  of  these,  the 
sentiments  of  our  country  and  of  ourselves,  and  of  expressing  to 
him  our  wishes  to  enter  into  a  connection  of  friendship  and 
commerce  with  him. 

That  for  this  purpose,  we  had  commissioned  the  bearer  hereof, 
Thomas  Barclay,  a  person  in  the  highest  confidence  of  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  and  as  such,  having  been  several 
years,  and  still  being  their  consul  general  with  our  great  and 
good  friend  and  ally,  the  King  of  France,  to  arrange  with  his 
Majesty  the  Emperor  those  conditions  Which  it  might  be  advan- 
tageous for  both  nations  to  adopt,  for  the  regulation  of  their 
commerce,  and  their  mutual  conduct  towards  each  other. 

That  we  deliver  to  him  a  copy  of  the  full  powers  with  which 
we  are  invested,  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  his  Majesty,  which 
copy  he  is  instructed  to  present  to  his  Majesty. 

That  though  by  these,  we  are  not  authorized  to  delegate  to 
him  the  power  of  ultimately  signing  the  treaty,  yet  such  is  our 
reliance  on  his  wisdom,  his  integrity,  and  his  attention  to  the  in- 
structions with  which  he  is  charged,  that  we  assure  his  Majesty, 
the  conditions  which  he  shall  arrange  and  send  to  us,  shall  be 


420  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

returned  with  our  signature,  in  order  to  receive  that  of  the  per- 
son whom  his  Majesty  shall  commission  for  the  same  purpose. 

HEADS    OF    INSTRUCTIONS    TO    MR.    BARCLAY. 

Congress  having  heen  pleased  to  invest  us  with  full  powers 
for  entering  into  a  treaty  of  amity  and  alliance  with  the  Empe- 
ror of  Morocco,  and  it  being  impracticable  for  us  to  attend  his 
court  in  person,  and  equally  impracticable,  on  account  of  our 
separate  stations,  to  receive  a  minister  from  him,  we  have  con- 
cluded to  effect  our  object  by  the  intervention  of  a  confidential 
person.  We  concur  in  wishing  to  avail  the  United  States  of 
your  talents  in  the  execution  of  this  business,  and  therefore  fur- 
nish you  with  a  letter  to  the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  to  give  due 
credit  to  your  transactions  with  him. 

We  advise  you  to  proceed  by  the  way  of  Madrid,  where  you 
will  have  opportunities  of  deriving  many  lights  from  Mr.  Carmi- 
chael,  through  whom  many  communications  with  the  court  of 
Morocco  have  already  passed. 

From  thence,  you  will  proceed,  by  such  route  as  you  shall 
think  best,  to  the  court  of  the  Emperor. 

You  will  present  to  him  our  letter,  with  the  copy  of  our  full 
powers,  with  which  you  are  furnished,  at  such  time  or  times,  and 
in  such  manner,  as  you  shall  find  best. 

You  will  proceed  to  negotiate,  with  his  minister,  the  terms  of 
a  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce,  as  nearly  conformed  as  possible 
to  the  draught  we  give  you.  Where  alterations,  which,  in  your 
opinion,  shall  not  be  of  great  importance,  shall  be  urged  by  the 
other  party,  you  are  at  liberty  to  agree  to  them.  Where  they 
shall  be  of  great  importance,  and  such  as  you  think  should  be 
rejected,  you  will  reject  them ;  but  where  they  are  of  great  im- 
portance, and  you  think  they  may  be  accepted,  you  will  ask 
time  to  take  our  advice,  and  will  advise  with  us  accordingly,  by 
letter  or  by  courier,  as  you  shall  think  best.  When  the  articles 
shall  all  be  agreed,  you  will  send  them  to  us  by  some  proper  per- 
son, for  our  signature. 

The  whole  expense  of  this  treaty,  including  as  well  the  ex- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  421 

penses  of  all  persons  employed  about  it,  as  the  presents  to  the 
Emperor  and  his  servants  must  not  exceed  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars ;  and  we  urge  you  to  use  your  best  endeavors  to  bring  it  as 
much  below  that  sum  as  you  possibly  can.  As  custom  may  have 
rendered  some  presents  necessary  in  the  beginning  or  progress  of 
this  business,  and  before  it  is  concluded,  or  even  in  a  way  to  be 
concluded,  we  authorize  you  to  conform  to  the  custom,  confiding 
in  your  discretion  to  hazard  as  little  as  possible,  before  a  certainty 
of  the  event.  We  trust  to  you  also  to  procure  the  best  informa- 
tion, as  to  what  persons,  and  in  what  form,  these  presents  should 
be  made,  and  to  make  them  accordingly. 

The  difference  between  the  customs  of  that  and  other  courts, 
the  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  those  customs,  but  on 
the  spot,  and  our  great  confidence  in  your  discretion,  induce  us 
to  leave  to  that  all  other  circumstances  relative  to  the  object  of 
your  mission.  It  will  be  necessary  for  you  to  take  a  secretary, 
well  skilled  in  the  French  language,  to  aid  you  in  your  business, 
and  to  take  charge  of  your  papers  in  case  of  any  accident  to 

yourself.     We  think  you  may  allow  him guineas  a  year, 

besides  his  expenses  for  travelling  and  subsistence.  We  engage 
to  furnish  your  own  expenses,  according  to  the  respectability  of 
the  character  with  which  you  are  invested  ;  but, as  to  the  allow- 
ance for  your  trouble,  we  wish  to  leave  it  to  Congress.  We  an- 
nex hereto  sundry  heads  of  inquiry  which  we  wish  you  to  make, 
and  to  give  us  thereon  the  best  information  you  shall  be  able  to 
obtain.  We  desire  you  to  correspond  with  us  by  every  oppor- 
tunity which  you  think  should  be  trusted,  giving  us,  from  time 
to  time,  an  account  of  your  proceedings  and  prospects. 

HEADS    OF    INQUIRY    FOR    MR.  BARCLAY,  AS    TO    MOROCCO. 

1.  Commerce.  What  are  the  articles  of  their  export  and  im- 
port ?  What  duties  are  levied  by  them  on  exports  and  imports  ? 
Do  all  nations  pay  the  same,  or  what  nations  are  favored,  and 
how  far  ?  Are  they  their  own  carriers,  or  who  carries  for  them  ? 
Do  they  trade  themselves  to  other  countries,  or  are  they  merely 
passive  ? 


422  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

2.  Ports.     What  are  their  principal  ports  ?     What  depth  of 
water  in  them  ?     What  works  of  defence  protect  these  ports  ? 

3.  Naval  force.     How  many  armed  vessels  have  they  ?    Of 
what  kind  and  force  ?     What  is  the  constitution  of  their  naval 
force  ?     What  resources  for  increasing  their  navy  ?     What  num- 
ber of  seamen  ?    Their  cruising  grounds,  and  seasons  of  cruising  ? 

4.  Prisoners.    What  is  their  condition  and  treatment  ?  At  what 
price  are  they  ordinarily  redeemed,  and  how  ? 

Do  they  pay  respect  to  the  treaties  they  make  ? 

Land  forces.     Their  numbers,  constitution  and  respectability  •" 

Revenues.     Their  amount. 

Coins.     What  coins  pass  there,  and  at  what  rates  ? 


TO    DAVID     HARTLEY. 

PARIS,  September  5,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  of  April  the  15th.  happened  to  be  put 
into  my  hands  at  the  same  time  with  a  large  parcel  of  letters 
from  America,  which  contained  a  variety  of  intelligence.  It  was 
then  put  where  I  usually  place  my  unanswered  letters ;  and  I, 
from  time  to  time,  put  off  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  it,  till  I 
should  be  able  to  furnish  you  American  intelligence  worth  com- 
municating. A  favorable  opportunity,  by  a  courier,  of  writing  to 
you,  occurring  this  morning,  what  has  been  my  astonishment  and 
chagrin, on  reading  your  letter  again,  to  find  there  was  a  case  in 
it  which  required  an  immediate  answer,  but  which,  by  the  variety 
of  matters  which  happened  to  be  presented  to  my  mind,  at  the 
same  time,  had  utterly  escaped  my  recollection.  I  pray  you  to 
be  assured,  that  nothing  but  this  slip  of  memory  would  have  pre- 
vented my  immediate  answer,  and  no  other  circumstance  would 
have  prevented  its  making  such  an  impression  on  my  mind,  as 
that  it  could  not  have  escaped.  I  hope  you  will,  therefore,  oblit- 
erate the  imputation  of  want  of  respect,  which,  under  actual  ap- 
pearances, must  have  arisen  in  your  mind,  but  which  would  refer 
to  an  untrue  cause  the  occasion  of  my  silence.  I  am  not  sum- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  423 

ciently  acquainted  with  the  proceedings  of  the  New  York  As- 
sembly, to  say,  with  certainty,  in  what  predicament  the  lands  of 
Mr.  Upton  may  stand.  But  on  conferring  with  Colonel  Hum- 
phreys, who,  being  from  the  neighboring  State,  was  more  in  the 
way  of  knowing  what  passed  in  New  York,  he  thinks  that  the 
descriptions  in  their  confiscation  laws  were  such  as  not  to  include 
a  case  of  this  nature.  The  first,  thing  to  be  done  by  Mr.  Upton, 
is,  to  state  his  case  to  some  intelligent  lawyer  of  the  country,  that 
he  may  know  with  certainty  whether  they  be  confiscated  or  not ; 
and  if  not  confiscated,  to  know  what  measures  are  necessary  for 
completing  and  securing  his  grant.  But  if  confiscated,  there  is,  then, 
no  other  tribunal  of  redress  but  their  General  Assembly.  If  he  is 
unacquainted  there,  I  would  advise  him  to  apply  to  Colonel  Ham- 
ilton (who  was  aid  to  General  Washington),  and  is  now  very 
eminent  at  the  bar,  and  much  to  be  relied  on.  Your  letter  in 
his  favor  to  Mr.  Jay  will  also  procure  him  the  benefit  of  his 
council. 

With  respect  to  America,  I  will  rather  give  you  a  general  view 
of  its  situation,  than  merely  relate  recent  events.  The  impost  is 
still  unpassed  by  the  two  States  of  New  York  and  Rhode  Is- 
land ;  for  the  manner  in  which  the  latter  has  passed  it  does  not 
appear  to  me  to  answer  the  principal  object  of  establishing  a 
fund,  which,  by  being  subject  to  Congress  alone,  may  give  such 
credit  to  the  certificates  of  public  debt,  as  will  make  them  nego- 
tiable. This  matter,  then,  is  still  suspended. 

Congress  have  lately  purchased  the  Indian  right  to  nearly  the 
whols  of  the  land  lying  in  the  new  State,  bounded  by  lake  Erie, 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  Ohio.  The  northwestern  corner  alone  is 
reserved  to  the  Delawares  and  Wiandots.  I  expect  a  purchase  is 
also  concluded  with  other  tribes,  for  a  considerable  proportion  of 
the  State  next  to  this,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Ohio.  They  have 
passed  an  ordinance  establishing  a  land  office,,  considerably  im- 
proved, I  think,  on  the  plan  of  which  I  had  the  honor  of  giving 
you  a  copy.  The  lands  are  to  be  offered  for  sale  to  the  highest 
bidder.  For  this  purpose,  portions  of  them  are  to  be  proposed  in 
each  State,  that  each  may  have  the  means  of  purchase  carried 


424  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

equally  to  their  doors,  and  that  the  purchasers  may  be  a  proper 
mixture  of  the  citizens  from  all  the  different  States.  But  such 
lots  as  cannot  be  sold  for  a  dollar  an  acre,  are  not  to  be  parted 
with.  They  will  receive  as  money  the  certificates  of  public 
debt.  I  flatter  myself  that  this  arrangement  will  very  soon  ab- 
sorb the  whole  of  these  certificates,  and  thus  rid  us  of  our  do- 
mestic debt,  which  is  four-fifths  of  our  whole  debt.  Our  foreign 
debt  will  then  be  a  bagatelle. 

I  think  it  probable  that  Vermont  will  be  made  independent,  as 
I  am  told  the  State  of  New  York  is  likely  to  agree  to  it.  Maine 
will  probably,  in  time,  be  also  permitted  to  separate  from  Massa- 
chusetts. As  yet,  they  only  begin  to  think  of  it.  Whenever  the 
people  of  Kentucky  shall  have  agreed  among  themselves,  my 
friends  write  me  word,  that  Virginia  will  consent  to  their  separa- 
tion. They  will  constitute  the  new  State  on  the  south  side  of 
Ohio,  joining  Virginia.  North  Carolina,  by  an  act  of  their  As- 
sembly, ceded  to  Congress  all  their  lands  westward  of  the  Alle- 
ghany.  The  people  inhabiting  that  territory,  thereon  declared 
themselves  independent,  called  their  State  by  the  name  of  Franklin, 
and  solicited  Congress  to  be  received  into  the  Union.  But  before 
Congress  met,  North  Carolina  (for  what  reasons  I  could  never 
learn)  resumed  their  cession.  The  people,  however,  persist  ; 
Congress  recommended  to  the  State  to  desist  from  their  opposi- 
tion, and  I  have  no  doubt  they  will  do  it.  It  will,  therefore,  re- 
sult from  the  act  of  Congress  laying  off  the  western  country  into 
new  States,  that  these  States  will  come  into  the  Union  in  the 
manner  therein  provided,  and  without  any  disputes  as  to  their 
boundaries. 

I  am  told  that  some  hostile  transaction  by  our  people  at  the 
Natchez,  against  the  Spaniards,  has  taken  place.  If  it  be  fact, 
Congress  will  certainly  not  protect  them,  but  leave  them  to  be 
chastised  by  the  Spaniards,  saving  the  right  to  the  territory.  A 
Spanish  minister  being  now  with  Congress,  and  both  parties  in- 
terested in  keeping  the  peace,  I  think,  if  such  an  event  has  hap- 
pened, it  will  be  easily  arranged. 

I  told  you, when  here,  of  the  propositions  made  by  Congress  to 


CORRESPONDENCE.  425 

the  States,  to  be  authorized  to  make  certain  regulations  in  their 
commerce ;  and  that,  from  the  disposition  to  strengthen  the  hands 
of  Congress,  which  was  then  growing  fast,  I  thought  they  would 
consent  to  it.  Most  of  them  did  so,  and  I  suppose  all  of  them 
would  have  done  it,  if  they  have  not  actually  done  it,  but  that 
events  proved  a  much  more  extensive  power  would  be  requisite. 
Congress  have,  therefore,  desired  to  be  invested  with  the  whole 
regulation  of  their  trade,  and  forever ;  and  to  prevent  all  tempta- 
tions to  abuse  the  power,  and  all  fears  of  it,  they  propose  that 
whatever  moneys  shall  be  levied  on  commerce,  either  for  the  pur- 
pose of  revenue,  or  by  way  of  forfeiture^  or  penalty,  shall  go  di- 
rectly into  the  coffers  of  the  State  wherein  it  is  levied,  without  be- 
ing touched  by  Congress.  From  the  present  temper  of  the  States, 
and  the  conviction  which  your  country  has  carried  home  to  their 
minds,  that  there  is  no  other  method  of  defeating  the  greedy  at- 
tempts of  other  countries  to  trade  with  them  on  equal  terms,  I 
think  they  will  add  an  article  for  this  purpose  to  their  Confedera- 
tion. But  the  present  powers  of  Congress  over  the  commerce 
of  the  States,  under  the  Confederation,  seem  not  at  all  understood 
by  your  ministry.  They  say  that  body  has  no  power  to  enter 
into  a  treaty  of  commerce  ;  why  then  make  one  ?  This  is  a  mis- 
take. By  the  sixth  article  of  the  Confederation,  the  States  re- 
nounce, individually,  all  power  to  make  any  treaty,  of  whatever 
nature,  with  a  foreign  nation.  By  the  ninth  article,  they  give  the 
power  of  making  treaties  wholly  to  Congress,  with  two  reserva- 
tions only.  1.  That  no  treaty  of  commerce  shall  be  made,  which 
shall  restrain  the  legislature  from  making  foreigners  pay  the  same 
imposts  with  their  own  people  :  nor  2d,  from  prohibiting  the  ex- 
portation or  importation  of  any  species  of  merchandise,  which  they 
might  think  proper.  Were  any  treaty  to  be  made  which  should 
violate  either  of  these  two  reservations,  it  would  be  so  far  void. 
In  the  treaties,  therefore,  made  with  France,  Holland,  &c.,  this 
has  been  cautiously  avoided.  But  are  these  treaties  of  no  advan- 
tage to  these  nations  ?  Besides  the  advantages  expressly  given  by 
them,  there  results  another,  of  great  value.  The  commerce  of 
those  nations  with  the  United  States,  is  thereby  under  the  pro- 


426  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

tection  of  Congress,  and  no  particular  State,  acting  by  fits  and 
starts,  can  harass  the  trade  of  France,  Holland,  &c.,  by  such  meas- 
ures as  several  of  them  have  practiced  against  England,  by  load- 
ing her  merchandsie  with  partial  impost,  refusing  admittance  to 
it  altogether,  excluding  her  merchants,  &c.,  &c.  For  you  will 
observe,  that  though  by  the  second  reservation  before  mentioned, 
they  can  prohibit  the  importation  of  any  species  of  merchandise,  as 
for  instance,  though  they  may  prohibit  the  importation  of  wines  in 
general,  yet  they  cannot  prohibit  that  of  French  wines  in  par- 
ticular. Another  advantage  is,  that  the  nations  having  treaties 
with  Congress,  can  and  do  provide  in  such  treaties  for  the  admis- 
sion of  their  consuls,  a  kind  of  officer  very  necessary  for  the  reg- 
ulation and  protection  of  commerce.  You  know  that  a  consul 
is  the  creature  of  treaty.  No  nation  without  an  agreement,  can 
place  an  officer  in  another  country,  with  any  powers  or  jurisdic- 
tion whatever.  But  as  the  States  have  renounced  the  separate 
power  of  making  treaties  with  foreign  nations,  they  cannot  sep- 
arately receive  a  consul ;  and  as  Congress  have,  by  the  Confeder- 
ation, no  immediate  jurisdiction  over  commerce,  as  they  have 
only  a  power  of  bringing  that  jurisdiction  into  existence  by  en- 
tering into  a  treaty,  till  such  treaty  be  entered  into,  Congress  them- 
selves cannot  receive  a  consul.  Till  a  treaty  then,  there  exists 
no  power  in  any  part  of  our  government,  federal  or  particular,  to 
admit  a  consul  among  us ;  and  if  it  be  true,  as  the  papers  say, 
that  you  have  lately  sent  one  over,  he  cannot  be  admitted  by  any 
power  in  existence,  to  an  exercise  of  any  function.  Nothing 
less  than  a  new  article,  to  be  agreed  to  by  all  the  States,  would 
enable  Congress,  or  the  particular  States,  to  receive  him.  You 
must  not  be  surprised  then,  if  he  be  not  received. 

I  think  I  have  by  this  time  tired  you  with  American  politics, 
and  will  therefore  only  add  assurances  of  the  sincere  regard  and 
esteem,  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  Sir,  your  most 
obedient  humble  servant. 


COKKESPONDENCE.  427 


TO    BARON    GEISMER. 

PARIS,  September  6,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  letter  of  March  the  28th,  which  I  received 
about  a  month  after  its  date,  gave  me  a  very  real  pleasure,  as  it 
assured  me  of  an  existence  which  I  valued,  and  of  which  I  had 
been  led  to  doubt.  You  are  now  too  distant  from  America,  to  be 
much  interested  in  what  passes  there.  From  the  London  gazettes, 
and  the  papers  copying  them,  you  are  led  to  suppose  that  all  there 
is  anarchy,  discontent  and  civil  war.  Nothing,  however,  is  less 
true.  There  are  not,  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  more  tranquil  gov- 
ernments than  ours,  nor  a  happier  and  more  contented  people. 
Their  commerce  has  not  as  yet  found  the  channels,  which  their 
new  relations  with  the  world  will  offer  to  best  advantage,  and  the 
old  ones  remain  as  yet  unopened  by  new  conventions.  This  oc- 
casions a  stagnation  in  the  sale  of  their  produce,  the  only  truth 
among  all  the  circumstances  published  about  them.  Their  hatred 
against  Great  Britain,  having  lately  received  from  that  nation  new 
cause  and  new  aliment,  has  taken  a  new  spring.  Among  the  in- 
dividuals of  your  acquaintance,  nothing  remarkable  has  happened. 
No  revolution  in  the  happiness  of  any  of  them  has  taken  place, 
except  that  of  the  loss  of  their  only  child. to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walker, 
who,  however,  left  them  a  grand-child  for  their  solace,  and  that 
of  your  humble  servant,  who  remains  with  no  other  family  than 
two  daughters,  the  elder  here  (who  was  of  your  acquaintance), 
the  younger  in  Virginia,  but  expected  here  the  next  summer. 
The  character  in  which  I  am  here  at  present,  confines  me  to  this 
place,  and  will  confine  me  as  long  as  I  continue  in  Europe.  How 
long  this  will  be,  I  cannot  tell.  I  am  now  of  an  age  which  does 
not  easily  accommodate  itself  to  new  manners  and  new  modes 
of  living ;  and  I  am  savage  enough  to  prefer  the  woods,  the 
wilds,  and  the  independence  of  Monticello,  to  all  the  brilliant 
pleasures  of  this  gay  Capital.  I  shall,  therefore,  rejoin  myself  to 
my  native  country,  with  new  attachments,  and  with  exaggerated 
esteem  for  its  advantages ;  for  though  there  is  less  wealth  there, 
there  is  more  freedom,  more  ease,  and  less  misery.  I  should  like 


428  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

it  better,  however,  if  it  could  tempt  you  once  more  to  visit  it ; 
but  that  is  not  to  be  expected.  Be  this  as  it  may,  and  whether 
fortune  means  to  allow  or  deny  me  the  pleasure  of  ever  seeing 
you  again,  be  assured  that  the  worth  which  gave  birth  to  my  at- 
tachment, and  which  still  animates  it,  will  continue  to  keep  it 
up  while  we  both  live,  and  that  it  is  with  sincerity  I  subscribe 
myself,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    JOHN    LANGDON. 

PARIS,  September  11,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  Captain  Yeaton  being  here,  furnishes  me  an 
opportunity  of  paying  the  tribute  of  my  congratulations  on  your 
appointment  to  the  government  of  your  State,  which  I  do  sin- 
cerely. He  gives  me  the  grateful  intelligence  of  your  health, 
and  that  of  Mrs.  Langdon.  Anxious  to  promote  your  service, 
and  believing  he  could  do  it  by  getting  himself  naturalized  here, 
and  authorized  to  command  your  vessel,  he  came  from  Havre  to 
Paris.  But  on  making  the  best  inquiries  I  could,  it  seemed  that 
the  time  requisite  to  go  through  with  this  business,  would  be 
much  more  than  he  could  spare.  He  therefore  declined  it.  I 
wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  give  you  a  hope  that  our  commerce, 
either  with  this  country,  or  its  islands,  was  likely  to  be  put  on  a 
better  footing.  But  if  it  be  altered  at  all,  it  will  probably  be  for 
the  worse.  The  regulations  respecting  their  commerce  are  by 
no  means  sufficiently  stable  to  be  relied  on. 

Europe  is  in  quiet,  and  likely  to  remain  so.  The  affairs  of 
the  Emperor  and  Dutch  are  as  good  as  settled,  and  no  other  cloud 
portends  any  immediate  storm.  You  have  heard  much  of  Amer- 
ican vessels  taken  by  the  Barbary  pirates.  The  Emperor  of  Mo- 
rocco took  one  last  winter,  (the  brig  Betsey  from  Philadelphia;) 
he  did  not  however  reduce  the  crew  to  slavery,  nor  confiscate  the 
vessel  or  cargo.  He  has  lately  delivered  up  the  crew  on  the  so- 
licitation of  the  Spanish  court.  No  other  has  ever  been  taken  by 


CORRESPONDENCE.  429 

them.  There  are,  indeed,  rumors  of  one  having  been  lately 
taken  by  the  Algerines.  The  fact  is  possible,  as  there  is  nothing 
to  hinder  their  taking  them,  but  it  is  not  as  yet  confirmed.  I 
have  little  doubt,  that  we  shall  be  able  to  place  our  commerce  on 
a  popular  footing  with  the  Barbary  States,  this  summer,  and  thus 
not  only  render  our  navigation  to  Portugal  and  Spain  safe,  but 
open  the  Mediterranean  as  formerly.  In  spite  of  treaties,  Eng- 
land is  still  our  enemy.  Her  hatred  is  deep  rooted  and  cordial, 
and  nothing  is  wanting  with  her  but  the  power,  to  wipe  us  and 
the  land  we  live  on  out  of  existence.  Her  interest,  however,  is 
her  ruling  passion ;  and  the  late  American  measures  have  struck 
at  that  so  vitally,  and  with  an  energy,  too,  of  which  she  had 
thought  us  quite  incapable,  that  a  possibility  seems  to  open  of 
forming  some  arrangement  with  her.  When  they  shall  see  de- 
cidedly, that,  without  it,  we  shall  suppress  their  commerce  with 
us,  they  will  be  agitated  by  their  avarice,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
their  hatred  and  their  fear  of  us,  on  the  other.  The  result  of 
this  conflict  of  dirty  passions  is  yet  to  be  awaited.  The  body  of 
the  people  of  this  country  love  us  cordially.  But  ministers  and 
merchants  love  nobody.  The  merchants  here,  are  endeavoring 
to  exclude  us  from  their  islands.  The  ministers  will  be  governed 
in  it  by  political  motives,  and  will  do  it,  or  not  do  it,  as  these 
shall  appear  to  dictate,  without  love  or  hatred  to  anybody.  It 
were  to  be  wished  that  they  were  able  to  combine  better,  the 
various  circumstances  which  prove,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  all  the 
advantages  of  their  colonies  result,  jn  the  end,  to  the  mother 
country.  I  pray  you  to  present  me  in  the  most  friendly  terms  to 
Mrs.  Langdon,  and  to  be  assured  of  the  esteem  with  which  I  am, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    M.    DE    LA    VALEE. 


PARIS,  Sepfenber  11,  1785. 

SIR, — I  received  duly  your  favor  of  August  14th.    It  is  not  in 
my  power  to  take  on  the  account  of  Congress  any  part  of  the-. 


430  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

expenses  of  your  passage,  having  received  no  authority  of  that 
kind  from  them  ;  nor  indeed  is  the  encouragement  of  emigrations 
among  the  objects  with  which  they  are  charged.  I  fear  that 
when  you  get  to  Portsmouth  you  will  find  difficulties  in  the 
winter  season  to  go  by  water  to  any  more  southern  States.  Your 
objects  being  the  manufacture  of  wool  and  cotton,  you  will  of 
course  choose  to  fix  yourself  where  you  can  get  both  or  one  of 
these  articles  in  plenty.  The  most  and  best  wool  is  to  be  had  in 
the  middle  States ;  they  begin  to  make  a  little  cotton  in  Mary- 
land ;  they  make  a  great  deal  in  Virginia,  and  all  the  States  south 
of  that.  The  price  of  clean  cotton  in  Virginia  is  from  21  to  26 
sols,  a  pound,  that  is  to  say,  from  a  fifth  to  a  fourth  of  a  dollar. 
General  Washington  being  at  the  head  of  the  great  works  carry- 
ing on  towards  clearing  the  Potomac,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that 
work  will  be  completed.  It  will  furnish  great  opportunities  of 
using  machines  of  all  kinds ;  perhaps  you  may  find  employ- 
ment there  for  your  skill  in  that  way.  Alexandria  on  the  Poto- 
mac will  undoubtedly  become  a  very  great  place,  but  Norfolk 
would  be  the  best  for  cotton  manufacture.  As  you  are  a  stranger, 
I  mention  such  facts  as  I  suppose  may  be  useful  to  you.  I  wish 
you  success,  and  am,  Sir,  your  very  humble  servant. 


TO    M.    LE    MARG.    DE    PONCENS. 

PARIS,  September  11,  1785. 

SIR, — I  received  three  days  ago  the  letter  you  did  me  the 
honor  to  write  to  me  on  the  2d  of  August.  Congress  have  pur- 
chased a  very  considerable  extent  of  country  from  the  Indians, 
and  have  passed  an  ordinance  laying  down  rules  for  disposing  of 
it.  These  admit  only  two  considerations  for  granting  lands ; 
first,  military  service  rendered  during  the  late  war ;  and  secondly, 
money  to  be  paid  at  the  time  of  granting,  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
charging their  national  debt.  They  direct  these  lands  to  be  sold 
at  auction  to  him  who  will  give  most  for  them,  but  that,  at  any 


CORRESPONDENCE.  431 

rate,  they  shall  not  be  sold  for  less  than  a  dollar  an  acre.  How- 
ever, as  they  receive  as  money  the  certificates  of  public  debt, 
and  these  can  be  bought  for  the  half  or  fourth  of  their  nominal 
value,  the  price  of  the  lands  is  reduced  in  proportion.  As  Con- 
gress exercise  their  government  by  general  rules  only,  I  do  not 
believe  they  will  grant  lands  to  any  individual  for  any  other  con- 
sideration than  those  mentioned  in  their  ordinance.  They  have 
ordered  the  lands  to  be  surveyed,  and  this  work  is  now  actually 
going  on  under  the  directions  of  their  own  geographer.  They  do 
not  require  information  of  the  quality  of  the  soil,  because  they  will 
sell  the  lands  faster  than  this  could  be  obtained ;  and  after  they 
are  sold,  it  is  the  interest  of  the  purchaser  to  examine  for  what 
the  soil  is  proper.  As  ours  is  a  country  of  husbandmen,  I  make 
no  doubt  they  will  receive  the  book  of  which  you  write  to  me 
with  pleasure  and  advantage.  I  have  stated  to  you  such  facts  as 
might  enable  you  to  decide  for  yourself  how  far  that  country 
presents  advantages  which  might  answer  your  views.  It  is  proper 
for  me  to  add  that  everything  relative  to  the  sale  and  survey  of 
these  lands  is  out  of  the  province  of  my  duty.  Supposing  you 
might  be  desirous  of  receiving  again  the  letters  of  Dr.  Franklin, 
I  enclose  them,  and  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  re- 
spect, Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    JAMES    MADISON. 

PARIS,  September  20,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — By  Mr.  Fitzhugh,  you  will  receive  my  letter  of 
the  first  instant.  He  is  still  here,  and  gives  me  an  opportunity 
of  again  addressing  you  much  sooner  than  I  should  have  done, 
but  for  the  discovery  of  a  great  piece  of  inattention.  In  that 
letter  I  send  you  a  detail  of  the  cost  of  your  books,  and  desire 
you  to  keep  the  amount  in  your  hands,  as  if  I  had  forgot  that  a 
part  of  it  was  in  fact  your  own,  as  being  a  balance  of  what  I 
had  remained  in  your  debt.  I  really  did  not  attend  to  it  in  the 


432  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

moment  of  writing,  and  when  it  occurred  to  me,  I  revised  my 
memorandum  book  from  the  time  of  our  being  in  Philadelphia 
together,  and  stated  our  account  from  the  beginning,  lest  I  should 
forget  or  mistake  any  part  of  it.  I  enclose  you  this  statement. 
You  will  always  be  so  good  as  to  let  me  know,  from  time  to 
time,  your  advances  for  me.  Correct  with  freedom  all  my  pro- 
ceedings for  you,  as.  in  what  I  do,  I  have  no  other  desire  than 
that  of  doing  exactly  what  will  be  most  pleasing  to  you. 

I  received  this  summer  a  letter  from  Messrs.  Buchanan  and 
Hay,  as  Directors  of  the  public  buildings,  desiring  I  would  have 
drawn  for  them,  plans  of  sundry  buildings,  and,  in  the  first  place, 
of  a  capitol.  They  fixed,  for  their  receiving  this  plan,  a  day 
which  was  within  about  six  weeks  of  that  on  which  their  letter 
came  to  my  hand.  I  engaged  an  architect  of  capital  abilities  in 
this  business.  Much  time  was  requisite,  after  the  external  form 
was  agreed  on,  to  make  the  internal  distribution  convenient  for 
the  three  branches  of  government.  This  time  was  much  length- 
ened by  my  avocations  to  other  objects,  which  I  had  no  right  to 
neglect.  The  plan,  however,  was  settled.  The  gentlemen  had 
sent  me  one  which  they  had  thought  of.  The  one  agreed  on 
here,  is  more  convenient,  more  beautiful,  gives  more  room,  and 
will  not  cost  more  than  two-thirds  of  what  that  would.  We 
took  for  our  model  what  is  called  the  Maison  quanxe  of  Nismes, 
one  of  the  most  beautiful,  if  riot  the  most  beautiful  and  precious 
morsel  of  architecture  left  us  by  antiquity.  It  was  built  by  Cains 
and  Lucius  Caesar,  and  repaired  by  Louis  XIV.,  and  has  the  suf- 
frage of  all  the  judges  of  architecture  who  have  seen  it,  as 
yielding  to  no  one  of  the  beautiful  monuments  of  Greece,  Rome. 
Palmyra,  and  Balbec,  which  late  travellers  have  communicated 
to  us.  It  is  very  simple,  but  it  is  noble  beyond  expression,  and 
would  have  done  honor  to  our  country,  as  presenting  to  travel- 
lers a  specimen  of  taste  in  our  infancy,  promising  much  for 
our  maturer  age.  I  have  been  much  mortified  with  information, 
which  I  received  two  days  ago  from  Virginia,  that  the  first  brick 
of  the  capitol  would  be  laid  within  a  few  days.  But  surely,  the 
delay  of  this  piece  of  a  summer  would  have  been  repaired  by 


CORRESPONDENCE.  433 

the  savings  in  the  plan  preparing  here,  were  we  to  value  its  other 
superiorities  as  nothing.  But  how  is  a  taste  in  this  beautiful  art 
to  be  formed  in  our  countrymen  unless  we  avail  ourselves  of 
every  occasion  when  public  buildings  are  to  be  erected,  of  pre- 
senting to  them  models  for  their  study  and  imitation  ?  Pray  try 
if  you  can  effect  the  stopping  of  this  work.  I  have  written  also 
to  E.  R.  on  the  subject.  The  loss  will  be  only  of  the  laying 
the  bricks  already  laid,  or  a  part  of  them.  The  bricks  them- 
selves will  do  again  for  the  interior  walls,  and  one  side  wall  and 
one  end  wall  may  remain,  as  they  will  answer  equally  well  for 
our  plan.  This  loss  is  not  to  be  weighed  against  the  saving  of 
money  which  will  arise,  against  the  comfort  of  laying  out  the 
public  money  for  something  honorable,  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
an  object  and  proof  of  national  good  taste,  and  the  regret  and 
mortification  of  erecting  a  monument  of  our  barbarism,  which 
will  be  loaded  with  execrations  as  long  as  it  shall  endure.  The 
plans  are  in  good  forwardness,  and  I  hope  will  be  ready  within 
three  or  four  weeks.  They  could  not  be  stopped  now,  but  on 
paying  their  whole  price,  which  will  be  considerable.  If  the 
undertakers  are  afraid  to  undo  what  they  have  done,  encourage 
them  to  it  by  a  recommendation  from  the  Assembly.  You  see  I 
am  an  enthusiast  on  the  subject  of  the  arts.  But  it  is  an  enthu- 
siasm of  which  I  am  not  ashamed,  as  its  object  is  to  improve  the 
taste  of  my  countrymen,  to  increase  their  reputation,  to  reconcile 
to  them  the  respect  of  the  world,  and  procure  them  its  praise. 

I  shall  send  off  your  books,  in  two  trunks,  to  Havre,  within 
two  or  three  days,  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Limozin,  American  agent 
there.  I  will  advise  you,  as  soon  as  I  know  by  what  vessel  he 
forwards  them.  Adieu.  Yours  affectionately. 


TO    EDMUND    BANDOLPH. 


PARIS,  September  20.  1785, 

DEAR  SIR, — Being  in  your  debt  for  ten  volumes  of  Buffon, 
I  have  endeavored  to  find  something  that  would  be  agreeable  to 
VOL.  i.  28 


434  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

you  to  receive,  in  return.  I  therefore  send  you,  by  way  of 
Havre,  a  dictinoary  of  law,  natural  and  municipal,  in  thirteen 
volumes  4to,  called  le  Code  de  1'humanite.  It  is  published  by 
Felice,  but  written  by  him  and  several  other  authors  of  estab- 
lished reputation.  Is  is  an  excellent  work.  I  do  not  mean  to 
say,  that  it  answers  fully  to  its  title.  That  would  have  required 
fifty  times  the  volume.  It  wants  many  articles  which  the  title 
would  induce  us  to  seek  in  it.  But  the  articles  which  it  con- 
tains are  well  written.  It  is  better  than  the  voluminous  Dic- 
tionnaire  diplomatique,  and  better,  also,  than  the  same  branch  of 
the  Encyclopedic  methodique.  There  has  been  nothing  pub- 
lished here,  since  I  came,  of  extraordinary  merit.  The  Ency- 
clopedic methodique,  which  is  coming  out,  from  time  to  time, 
must  be  excepted  from  this.  It  is  to  be  had  at  two  guineas  less 
than  the  subscription  price.  I  shall  be  happy  to  send  you  any- 
thing in  this  way  which  you  may  desire.  French  books  are  to 
be  bought  here,  for  two-thirds  of  what  they  can  in  England. 
English  and  Greek  and  Latin  authors,  cost  from  twenty-five  to 
fifty  per  cent,  more  here  than  in  England. 

I  received,  some  time  ago,  a  letter  from  Messrs.  Hay  and  Bu- 
chanan, as  Directors  of  the  public  buildings,  desiring  I  would 
have  plans  drawn  for  our  public  buildings,  and  in  the  first  place, 
for  the  capitol.  I  did  not  receive  their  letter  until  within  six 
weeks  of  the  time  they  had  fixed  on,  for  receiving  the  drawings. 
Nevertheless,  I  engaged  an  excellent  architect  to  comply  with 
their  desire.  It  has  taken  much  time  to  accommodate  the  exter- 
nal adopted,  to  the  internal  arrangement  necessary  for  the  three 
branches  of  government.  However,  it  is  effected  on  a  plan, 
which,  with  a  great  deal  of  beauty  and  convenience  within, 
unites  an  external  form  on  the  most  perfect  model  of  antiquity 
now  existing.  This  is  the  Maison  quarixe  of  Nismes,  built  by 
Caius  and  Lucius  Caesar,  and  repaired  by  Louis  XIV.,  which,  in 
the  opinion  of  all  who  have  seen  it,  yields  in  beauty  to  no 
piece  of  architecture  on  earth.  The  gentlemen  enclosed  me  a 
plan  of  which  they  had  thought.  The  one  preparing  here,  will 
be  more  convenient,  give  more  room,  and  cost  but  two-thirds  of 


CORRESPONDENCE.  435 

that ;  and  as  a  piece  of  architecture,  doing  honor  to  our  country, 
will  leave  nothing  to  be  desired.  The  plans  will  be  ready  soon. 
But,  two  days  ago,  I  received  a  letter  from  Virginia,  informing 
me  the  first  brick  of  the  capitol  would  be  laid  in  a  few  days. 
This  mortifies  me  extremely.  The  delay  of  this  summer,  would 
have  been  amply  repaid  by  the  superiority  and  economy  of  the 
plan  preparing  here.  Is  it  impossible  to  stop  the  work  where  it 
is  ?  You  will  gain  money  by  losing  what  is  done,  and  general 
approbation,  instead  of  occasioning  a  regret,  which  will  endure 
as  long  as  your  building  does.  How  is  a  taste  for  a  chaste  and 
good  style  of  building  to  be  formed  in  our  countrymen,  unless 
we  seize  all  occasions  which  the  erection  of  public  buildings 
offers,  of  presenting  to  them  models  for  their  imitation  ?  Do,  my 
dear  Sir,  exert  your  influence  to  stay  the  further  progress  of  the 
work,  till  you  can  receive  these  plans.  You  will  only  lose  the 
price  of  laying  what  bricks  are  already  laid,  and  of  taking  part 
of  them  asunder.  They  will  do  again  for  the  inner  walls.  A 
plan  for  a  prison  will  be  sent  at  the  same  time. 

Mazzei  is  here,  and  in  pressing  distress  for  money.  I  have 
helped  him  as  far  as  I  have  been  able,  but  particular  circumstances 
put  it  out  of  my  power  to  do  more.  He  is  looking  with  anxiety 
to  the  arrival  of  every  vessel,  in  hopes  of  relief  through  your  means. 
If  he  does  not  receive  it  soon,  it  is  difficult  to  foresee  his  fate. 

The  quiet  which  Europe  enjoys  at  present  leaves  nothing  to 
communicate  to  you  in  the  political  way.  The  Emperor  and 
Dutch  still  differ  about  the  quantum  of  money  to  be  paid  by  the 
latter ;  they  know  not  what.  Perhaps  their  internal  convulsions 
will  hasten  them  to  a  decision.  France  is  improving  her  navy, 
as  if  she  were  already  in  a  naval  war,  yet  I  see  no  immediate 
prospect  of  her  having  occasion  for  it.  England  is  not  likely  to 
offer  war  to  any  nation,  unless  perhaps  to  ours.  This  would 
cost  us  our  whole  shipping,  but  in  every  other  respect  we  might 
flatter  ourselves  with  success.  But  the  most  successful  war  sel- 
dom pays  for  its  losses.  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  when 
convenient,  and  am,  with  much  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and 
servant. 


436  JEFFERSON'S   WOKKS. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  September  24,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  received  your  favor  of  the  18th,  enclosing 
your  compliments  on  your  presentation.  The  sentiments  you 
therein  expressed  were  such  as  were  entertained  in  America  till 
the  commercial  proclamation,  and  such  as  would  again  return 
were  a  rational  conduct  to  be  adopted  by  Great  Britain.  I  think, 
therefore,  you  by  no  means  compromised  yourself  or  our  coun- 
try, nor  expressed  more  than  it  would  be  our  interest  to  encour- 
age, if  they  were  disposed  to  meet  us.  I  am  pleased,  however, 
to  see  the  answer  of  the  King.  It  bears  the  marks  of  sudden- 
ness and  surprise,  and  as  he  seems  not  to  have  had  time  for  re- 
flection, we  may  suppose  he  was  obliged  to  find  his  answer  in 
the  real  sentiments  of  his  heart,  if  that  heart  has  any  sentiment. 
I  have  no  doubt,  however,  that  it  contains  the  real  creed  of  an 
Englishman,  and  that  the  word  which  he  has  let  escape,  is  the  true 
word  of  the  enigma.  "  The  moment  I  see  such  sentiments  as 
yours  prevail,  and  a  disposition  to  give  this  country  the  prefer- 
ence^ I  will,  &c."  All  this  I  steadily  believe.  But  the  condition 
is  impossible.  Our  interest  calls  for  a  perfect  equality  in  our 
conduct  towards  these  two  nations ;  but  no  preference  anywhere. 
If,  however,  circumstances  should  ever  oblige  us  to  show  a  prefer- 
ence, a  respect  for  our  character,  if  we  had  no  better  motive, 
would  decide  to  which  it  should  be  given. 

My  letters  from  members  of  Congress  render  it  doubtful 
whether  they  would  not  rather  that  full  time  should  be  given  for 
the  present  disposition  of  America  to  mature  itself,  and  to  produce 
a  permanent  improvement  in  the  federal  constitution,  rather  than 
by  removing  the  incentive  to  prevent  the  improvement.  It  is 
certain  that  our  commerce  is  in  agonies  at  present,  and  that  these 
would  be  relieved  by  opening  the  British  ports  in  the  West  In- 
dies. It  remains  to  consider  whether  a  temporary  continuance 
under  these  sufferings  would  be  paid  for  by  the  amendment  it  is 
likely  to  produce.  However,  I  believe  there  is  no  fear  that  Great 


CORRESPONDENCE.  437 

Britain  will  puzzle  us  by  leaving  it  in  our  choice  to  hasten  or 
delay  a  treaty. 

Is  insurance  made  on  Houdon's  life  ?  I  am  uneasy  about  it, 
lest  we  should  hear  of  any  accident.  As  yet  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt  their  safe  passage.  If  the  insurance  is  not  made,  I  will 
pray  you  to  have  it  done  immediately. 

As  I  have  not  received  any  London  newspapers  as  yet,  I  am 
obliged  to  ask  you  what  is  done  as  to  them,  lest  the  delay  should 
proceed  from  some  obstacle  to  be  removed. 

There  is  a  Mr.  Thompson  at  Dover,  who  has  proposed  to 
me  a  method  of  getting  them  post  free,  but  I  have  declined  re- 
sorting to  it  till  I  should  know  in  what  train  the  matter  is  at 
present. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  perfect  esteem,  dear 
Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  September  24,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — My  letter  of  September  the  19th,  written  the 
morning  after  Mr.  Lambe's  arrival  here,  will  inform  you  of  that 
circumstance.  I  transmit  you  herewith  copies  of  the  papers  he 
brought  to  us  on  the  subject  of  the  Barbary  treaties.  You  will 
see  by  them  that  Congress  have  adopted  the  very  plan  which  we 
were  proposing  to  pursue.  It  will  now  go  on  with  less  danger 
of  objection  from  the  other  parties.  The  receipt  of  these  new 
papers,  therefore,  has  rendered  necessary  no  change,  in  matter  of 
substance,  in  the  despatches  we  had  prepared.  But  they  render 
some  formal  changes  necessary.  For  instance,  in  our  letter  of 
credence  for  Mr.  Barclay  to  the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  it  becomes 
improper  to  enter  into  those*  explanations  which  seemed  proper 
when  that  letter  was  drawn,  because  Congress,  in  their  letter, 
enter  into  those  •  explanations.  In  the  letter  to  the  Count  de 
Vergennes,  it  became  proper  to  mention  the  new  full  powers  re- 


438  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

ceived  from  Congress,  and  which,  in  some  measure,  accord  with 
the  idea  communicated  by  him  to  us  from  the  Marechal  de  Cas- 
tries. These  and  other  formal  alterations,  which  appeared  neces- 
sary to  me,  I  have  made,  leaving  so  much  of  the  original  draughts, 
approved  and  amended  by  you,  as  were  not  inconsistent  with 
these  alterations.  I  have,  therefore,  had  these  prepared  fair,  to 
save  you  the  trouble  of  copying ;  yet,  wherever  you  choose  to 
make  alterations,  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  make  them,  taking, 
in  that  case,  the  trouble  of  having  new  fair  copies  made  out. 

You  will  perceive  by  Mr.  Jay's  letter  that  Congress  had  not 
thought  proper  to  give  Mr.  Lambe  any  appointment.  I  imagine 
they  apprehend  it  might  interfere  with  measures  actually  taken 
by  us.  Notwithstanding  the  perfect  freedom  which  they  are 
pleased  to  leave  to  us  on  this  subject,  I  cannot  feel  myself  clear 
of  that  bias  which  a  presumption  of  their  pleasure  gives,  and 
ought  to  give.  I  presume  that  Mr.  Lambe  met  their  approba- 
tion, because  of  the  recommendations  he  carried  from  the  Gov- 
ernor and  State  of  Connecticut,  because  of  his  actual  knowledge 
of  the  country  and  people  of  the  States  of  Barbary,  because  of 
the  detention  of  these  letters  from  March  to  July,  which,  consid- 
ering their  pressing  nature,  would  otherwise  have  been  sent  by 
other  Americans,  who,  in  the  meantime,  have  come  from  New 
York  to  Paris,  and  because,  too,  of  the  information  we  received 
by  Mr.  Jarvis.  These  reasons  are  not  strong  enough  to  set  aside 
our  appointment  of  Mr.  Barclay  to  Morocco  ;  that  I  think  should 
go  on,  as  no  man  could  be  sent  who  would  enjoy  more  the  con- 
fidence of  Congress.  But  they  are  strong  enough  to  induce  me 
to  propose  to  you  the  appointment  of  Lambe  to  Algiers.  He 
has  followed  for  many  years  the  Barbary  trade,  and  seems  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  those  States.  I  have  not  seen  enough 
of  him  to  judge  of  his  abilities.  He  seems  not  deficient,  as  far 
as  I  can  see,  and  the  footing  on  which  he  comes,  must  furnish  a 
presumption  for  what  we  do  not  see.  We  must  say  the  same  as 
to  his  integrity ;  we  must  rely  for  this  on  the  recommendations 
he  brings,  as  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  judge  of  this  for  ourselves. 
Yet  it  will  be  our  duty  to  use  such  reasonable  cautions  as  are  in 


COBBESPONDEtfCB.  439 

our  power.  Two  occur  to  me.  1.  To  give  him  a  clerk  capable 
of  assisting  and  attending  to  his  proceedings,  and  who,  in  case 
he  thought  anything  was  going  amiss,  might  give  us  informa- 
tion. 2.  Not  to  give  him  a  credit  on  Yan  Staphorst  and  Willinck, 
but  let  his  drafts  be  made  on  yourself,  which,  with  the  knowl- 
edge you  will  have  of  his  proceedings,  will  enable  you  to  check 
them,  if  you  are  sensible  of  any  abuse  intended.  This  will  give 
you  trouble ;  but  as  I  have  never  found  you  declining  trouble 
when  it  is  necessary,  I  venture  to  propose  it.  I  hope  it  will  not 
expose  you  to  inconvenience,  as  by  instructing  Lambe  to  insert 
in  his  drafts  a  proper  usance,  you  can,  in  the  meantime,  raise  the 
money  for  them  by  drawing  on  Holland.  I  must  inform  you 
that  Mr.  Barclay  wishes  to  be  put  on  the  same  footing  with  Mr. 
Lambe,  as  to  this  article,  and  therefore  I  return  you  your  letter 
of  credit  on  Van  Staphorst  &  Co.  As  to  the  first  article,  there 
is  great  difficulty.  There  is  nobody  at  Paris  fit  for  the  under- 
taking who  would  be  likely  to  accept  it.  I  mean  there  is  no 
American,  for  I  should  be  anxious  to  place  a  native  in  the  trust. 
Perhaps  you  can  send  us  one  from  London.  There  is  a  Mr. 
Randall  there  from  New  York,  whom  Mr.  Barclay  thinks  might 
be  relied  on  very  firmly  for  integrity  and  capacity.  He  is  there 
for  his  health  ;  perhaps  you  can  persuade  him  to  go  to  Algiers  in 
pursuit  of  it.  If  you  cannot,  I  really  know  not  what  will  be 
done.  It  is  impossible  to  propose  to  Bancroft  to  go  in  a  secon- 
dary capacity.  Mr.  Barclay  and  myself  have  thought  of  Cairnes, 
at  L'Orient,  as  a  dernier  resort.  But  it  is  uncertain,  or  rather 
improbable,  that  he  will  undertake  it.  You  will  be  pleased,  in 
the  first  place,  to  consider  of  my  proposition  to  send  Lambe  to 
Algiers ;  and  in  the  next,  all  the  circumstaces  before  detailed,  as 
consequences  of  that. 

The  enclosed  letter  from  Richard  O'Bryan  furnishes  powerful 
motives  for  commencing,  by  some  means  or  other,  the  treaty 
with  Algiers,  more  immediately  than  would  be  done  if  left  on 
Mr.  Barclay.  You  will  perceive  by  that,  that  two  of  our  ves- 
sels, with  their  crews  and  cargoes,  have  been  carried  captive  into 
that  port.  What  is  to  be  done  as  to  those  poor  people  ?  I  am 


440  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

for  hazarding  the  supplementary  instruction  to  Lambe  which  ac- 
companies these  papers.  Alter  it.  or  reject  it,  as  you  please. 
You  ask  what  I  think  of  claiming  the  Dutch  interposition.  I 
doubt  the  fidelity  of  any  interposition  too  much  to  desire  it  sin- 
cerely. Our  letters  to  this  court  heretofore  seemed  to  oblige  us 
to  communicate  with  them  on  the  subject.  If  you  think  the 
Dutch  would  take  amiss  our  not  applying  to  them,  I  will  join 
you  in  the  application.  Otherwise,  the  fewer  who  are  apprised 
of  our  proceedings,  the  better.  To  communicate  them  to  the 
States  of  Holland,  is  to  communicate  them  to  the  whole  world. 

Mr.  Short  returned  last  night,  and  brought  the  Prussian  treaty, 
duly  executed  in  English  and  French.  We  may  send  it  to  Con- 
gress by  the  Mr.  Fitzhughs,  going  from  hence.  Will  you  draw 
and  sign  a  short  letter  for  that  purpose  ?  I  send  you  a  copy  of 
a  letter  received  from  the  Marquis  Fayette.  In  the  present  un- 
settled state  of  American  commerce,  I  had  as  leave  avoid  all  fur- 
ther treaties,  except  with  American  powers.  If  Count  Merci, 
therefore,  does  not  propose  the  subject  to  me,  I  shall  not  to  him, 
nor  do  more  than  decency  requires,  if  he  does  propose  it. 

I  am,  with  great  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble 
servant. 


TO    F.    HOPKINSON. 

PARIS,  September  25,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — My  last  to  you  was  of  the  6th  of  July.  Since 
that,  I  have  received  yours  of  July  the  23d.  I  do  not  altogether 
despair  of  making  something  of  your  method  of  quilling,  though, 
as  yet,  the  prospect  is  not  favorable.  I  applaud  much  your  perse- 
verance in  improving  this  instrument,  and  benefiting  mankind 
almost  in  spite  of  their  teeth.  I  mentioned  to  Piccini  the  im- 
provement with  which  I  am  entrusted.  He  plays  on  the  piano- 
forte, and  therefore  did  not  feel  himself  personally  interested.  I 
hope  some  better  opportunity  will  yet  fall  in  my  way  of  doing 
it  justice.  I  had  almost  decided,  on  his  advice,  to  get  a  piano- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  441 

forte  for  my  daughter  ;  but  your  last  letter  may  pause  me,  till  I 
see  its  effect. 

Arts  and  arms  are  alike  asleep  for  the  moment.  Ballooning 
indeed  goes  on.  There  are  two  artists  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Paris,  who  seem  to  be  advancing  towards  the  desideratum  in 
this  business.  They  are  able  to  rise  and  fall  at  will,  without  ex- 
pending their  gas,  and  to  deflect  forty-five  degrees  from  the 
course  of  the  wind. 

I  desired  you,  in  my  last,  to  send  the  newspapers,  notwith- 
standing the  expense.  I  had  then  no  idea  of  it.  Some  late  in- 
stances have  made  me  perfectly  acquainted  with  it.  I  have 
therefore  been  obliged  to  adopt  the  following  plan.  To  have 
my  newspapers,  from  the  different  States,  enclosed  to  the  office 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  to  desire  Mr.  Jay  to  pack  the  whole  in 
a  box,  and  send  it  by  the  packet  as  merchandise,  directed  to  the 
American  consul  at  L'Orient,  who  will  forward  it  to  me  by  the 
periodical  wagons.  In  this  way,  they  will  only  cost  me  livres 
where  they  now  cost  me  guineas.  I  must  pray  you,  just  before 
the  departure  of  every  French  packet,  to  send  my  papers  on 
hand,  to  Mr.  Jay,  in  this  way.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  am 
subject  to  American  postage  or  not,  in  general;  but  I  think 
newspapers  never  are.  I  have  sometimes  thought  of  sending  a 
copy  of  my  Notes  to  the  Philosophical  Society,  as  a  tribute 
due  to  them ;  but  this  would  seem  as  if  I  considered  them  as 
worth  something,  which  I  am  conscious  they  are  not.  I  will 
not  ask  you  for  your  advice  on  this  occasion,  because  it  is  one 
of  those  on  which  no  man  is  authorized  to  ask  a  sincere  opinion. 
I  shall  therefore  refer  it  to  further  thoughts. 

I  am,  with  very  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    R.    IZARD. 

PARIS,  September  26,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  received,  a  few  days  ago,  your  favor  of  the  10th 
of  June,  and  am  to  thank  you  for  the  trouble  you  have  given 


442  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

yourself,  to  procure  me  information  on  the  subject  of  the  com- 
merce of  your  State.  I  pray  you  also,  to  take  the  trouble  of 
expressing  my  acknowledgments  to  the  Governor  and  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  as  well  as  to  Mr.  Hall,  for  the  very  precise  details 
on  this  subject,  with  which  they  have  been  pleased  to  honor  me. 
Fo\ir  letter  of  last  January,  of  which  you  make  mention,  never 
came  to  my  hands.  Of  course,  the  papers  now  received  are  the 
first  and  only  ones  which  have  come  safe.  The  infidelities  of 
the  post  offices,  both  of  England  and  France,  are  not  unknown 
to  you.  The  former  are  the  most  rascally,  because  they  retain 
one's  letters,  not  choosing  to  take  the  trouble  of  copying  them. 
The  latter,  when  they  have  taken  copies,  are  so  civil  as  to  send 
the  originals,  resealed  clumsily  with  a  composition,  on  which 
they  have  previously  taken  the  impression  of  the  seal.  England 
shows  no  dispositions  to  enter  into  friendly  connections  with 
us.  On  the  contrary,  her  detention  of  our  posts,  seems  to  be 
the  speck  which  is  to  produce  a  storm.  I  judge  that  a  war  with 
America  would  be  a  popular  war  in  England.  Perhaps  the 
situation  of  Ireland  may  deter  the  ministry  from  hastening  it  on. 
Peace  is  at  length  made  between  the  Emperor  and  Dutch.  The 
terms  are  not  published,  but  it  is  said,  he  gets  ten  millions  of 
florins,  the  navigation  of  the  Scheldt  not  quite  to  Antwerp,  and 
two  forts.  However,  this  is  not  to  be  absolutely  relied  on. 
The  league  formed  by  the  King  of  Prussia  against  the  Emperor, 
is  a  most  formidable  obstacle  to  his  ambitious  designs.  It  cer- 
tainly has  defeated  his  views  on  Bavaria,  and  will  render  doubt- 
ful the  election  of  his  nephew  to  be  King  of  the  Romans.  Mat- 
ters are  not  yet  settled  between  him  and  the  Turk.  In  truth, 
he  undertakes  too  much.  At  home  he  has  made  some  good 
regulations. 

Your  present  pursuit  being  (the  wisest  of  all)  agriculture,  I 
am  not  in  a  situation  to  be  useful  to  it.  You  know  that  France 
is  not  the  country  most  celebrated  for  this  art.  I  went  the  other 
day  to  see  a  plough  which  was  to  be  worked  by  a  windlass, 
without  horses  or  oxen.  It  was  a  poor  aflair.  With  a  very 
troublesome  apparatus,  applicable  only  to  a  dead  level,  four  men 


CORRESPONDENCE.  443 

could  do  the  work  of  two  horses.  There  seems  a  possibility 
that  the  great  desideratum  in  the  use  of  the  halloon  may  be  ob- 
tained. There  are  two  persons  at  Javel  (opposite  to  Auteuil) 
who  are  pushing  this  matter.  They  are  able  to  rise  and  fall  at 
will,  without  expending  their  gas,  and  they  can  deflect  forty-five 
degrees  from  the  course  of  the  wind. 

I  took  the  liberty  of  asking  you  to  order  me  a  Charleston 
newspaper.  The  expense  of  French  postage  is  so  enormous, 
that  I  have  been  obliged  to  desire  that  my  newspapers,  from  the 
different  States,  may  be  sent  to  the  office  for  Foreign  Affairs  at 
New  York ;  and  I  have  requested  of  Mr.  Jay  to  have  them  al- 
ways packed  in  a  box,  and  sent  by  the  French  packets  as  mer- 
chandise, to  the  care  of  the  American  consul  at  L'Orient,  who 
will  send  them  on  by  the  periodical  wagons.  Will  you  permit 
me  to  add  this  to  the  trouble  I  have  before  given  you,  of  order- 
ing the  printer  to  send  them,  under  cover  to  Mr.  Jay,  by  such 
opportunities  by  water,  as  occur  from  time  to  time.  This  re- 
quest must  go  to  the  acts  of  your  Assembly  also.  I  shall  be  on 
the  watch  to  send  you  anything  that  may  appear  here  on  the 
subjects  of  agriculture  or  the  arts,  which  may  be  worth  your 
perusal.  I  sincerely  congratulate  Mrs.  Izard  and  yourself,  on  the 
double  accession  to  your  family  by  marriage  and  a  new  birth. 
My  daughter  values  much  your  remembrance  of  her,  and  prays 
to  have  her  respects  presented  to  the  ladies  and  yourself.  In 
this  I  join  her,  and  shall  embrace  with  pleasure  every  opportu- 
nity of  assuring  you  of  the  sincere  esteem,  with  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  be,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble 
servant 


TO    MR.    BELLINI. 


PARIS,  September  30,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  estimable  favor,  covering  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Mazzei,  came  to  hand  on  the  26th  instant.     The  letter  to  Mr. 


444  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Mazzei  was  put  into  his  hands  in  the  same  moment,  as  he  hap- 
pened to  be  present.  I  leave  to  him  to  convey  to  you  all  his 
complaints,  as  it  will  be  more  agreeable  to  me  to  express  to  you 
the  satisfaction  I  received,  on  being  informed  of  your  perfect 
health.  Though  I  could  not  receive  the  same  pleasing  news 
of  Mrs.  Bellini,  yet  the  philosophy  with  which  I  am  told  she 
bears  the  loss  of  health,  is  a  testimony  the  more  how  much  she 
deserved  the  esteem  I  bear  her.  Behold  me  at  length  on  the 
vaunted  scene  of  Europe  !  .  It  is  not  necessary  for  your  informa- 
tion, that  I  should  enter  into  details  concerning  it.  But  you  are, 
perhaps,  curious  to  know  how  this  new  scene  has  struck  a  sav- 
age of  the  mountains  of  America.  Not  advantageously,  I  assure 
you.  I  find  the  general  fate  of  humanity  here  most  deplorable. 
The  truth  of  Voltaire's  observation,  offers  itself  perpetually,  that 
every  man  here  must  be  either  the  hammer  or  the  anvil.  It  is  a 
true  picture  of  that  country  to  which  they  say  we  shall  pass 
hereafter,  and  where  we  are  to  see  God  and  his  angels  in  splen- 
dor, and  crowds  of  the  damned  trampled  under  their  feet. 
While  the  great  mass  of  the  people  are  thus  suffering  under  phy- 
sical and  moral  oppression,  I  have  endeavored  to  examine  more 
nearly  the  condition  of  the  great,  to  appreciate  the  true  value  of 
the  circumstances  in  their  situation,  which  dazzle  the  bulk  of 
spectators,  and,  especially,  to  compare  it  with  that  degree  of 
happiness  which  is  enjoyed  in  America,  by  every  class  of  peo- 
ple. Intrigues  of  love  occupy  the  younger,  and  those  of  am- 
bition, the  elder  part  of  the  great.  Conjugal  love  having  no  ex- 
istence among  them,  domestic  happiness,  of  which  that  is  the 
basis,  is  utterly  unknown.  In  lieu  of  this,  are  substituted  pur- 
suits which  nourish  and  invigorate  all  our  bad  passions,  and 
which  offer  only  moments  of  ecstacy,  amidst  days  and  months 
of  restlessness  and  torment.  Much,  very  much  inferior,  this,  to 
the  tranquil,  permanent  felicity  with  which  domestic  society  in 
America  blesses  most  of  its  inhabitants  ;  leaving  them  to  follow 
steadily  those  pursuits  which  health  and  reason  approve,  and 
rendering  truly  delicious  the  intervals  of  those  pursuits. 

In  science,  the  mass  of  the  people  are  two  centuries  behind 


CORRESPONDENCE.  445 

ours ;  their  literati,  half  a  dozen  years  before  us.  Books,  really 
good,  acquire  just  reputation  in  that  time,  and  so  become  known 
to  us,  and  communicate  to  us  all  their  advances  in  knowledge. 
Is  not  this  delay  compensated,  by  our  being  placed  out  of  the 
reach  of  that  swarm  of  nonsensical  publications  which  issues 
daily  from  a  thousand  presses,  and  perishes  almost  in  issuing  ? 
With  respect  to  what  are  termed  polite  manners,  without  sacri- 
ficing too  much  the  sincerity  of  language,  I  would  wish  my  coun- 
trymen to  adopt  just  so  much  of  European  politeness,  as  to  be 
ready  to  make  all  those  little  sacrifices  of  self,  which  really  ren- 
der European  manners  amiable,  and  relieve  society  from  the  dis- 
agreeable scenes  to  which  rudeness  often  subjects  it.  Here,  it 
seems  that  a  man  might  pass  a  life  without  encountering  a  single 
rudeness.  In  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  they  are  far  before  us, 
because,  with  good  taste  they  unite  temperance.  They  do  not 
terminate  the  most  sociable  meals"  by  transforming  themselves 
into  brutes.  I  have  never  yet  seen  a  man  drunk  in  France,  even 
among  the  lowest  of  the  people.  Were  I  to  proceed  to  tell  you 
how  much  I  enjoy  their  architecture,  sculpture,  painting,  music 
I  should  want  words.  It  is  in  these  arts  they  shine.  The  last 
of  them,  particularly,  is  an  enjoyment,  the  deprivation  of  which 
with  us,  cannot  be  calculated.  I  am  almost  ready  to  say,  it  is 
the  only  thing  which  from  my  heart  I  envy  them,  and  which,  in 
spite  of  all  the  authority  of  the  Decalogue,  I  do  covet.  But  I 
am  running  on  in  an  estimate  of  things  infinitely  better  known 
to  you  than  to  me,  and  which  will  only  serve  to  convince  you, 
that  I  have  brought  with  me  all  the  prejudices  of  country,  habit, 
and  age.  But  whatever  I  may  allow  to  be  charged  to  me  as  pre- 
judice, in  every  other  instance,  I  have  one  sentiment  at  least, 
founded  on  reality  :  it  is  that  of  the  perfect  esteem  which  your 
merit  and  that  of  Mrs.  Bellini  have  produced,  and  which  will 
forever  enable  me  to  assure  you  of  the  sincere  regard  with  which 
I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO  JAMES    MADISON,  OF   WILLIAM  AND   MARY    COLLEGE. 

PARIS,  October  2,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  duly  received  your  favor  of  April  the  10th, 
oy  Mr.  Mazzei.  You  therein  speak  of  a  new  method  of  raising 
water  by  steam,  which  you  suppose  will  come  into  general  use. 
I  know  of  no  new  method  of  that  kind,  and  suppose  (as  you  say 
the  account  you  have  received  of  it  is  very  imperfect)  that  some 
person  has  represented  to  you,  as  new,  a  fire  engine  erected  at 
Paris,  and  which  supplies  the  greater  part  of  the  town  with  water. 
But  this  is  nothing  more  than  the  fire  engine  you  have  seen  de- 
scribed in  the  books  of  hydraulics,  and  particularly  in  the  Dic- 
tionary of  Arts  and  Sciences,  published  in  8vo,  by  Owen,  the 
idea  of  which  was  first  taken  from  Papin's  Digester.  It  would 
have  been  better  called  the  steam  engine.  The  force  of  the 
steam  of  water,  you  know,  is  immense.  In  this  engine,  it  is 
made  to  exert  itself  towards  the  working  of  pumps.  That  of 
Paris  is,  I  believe,  the  largest  known,  raising  four  hundred 
thousand  cubic  feet  (French)  of  water,  in  twenty-four  hours;  or 
rather,  I  should  have  said,  those  of  Paris,  for  there  are  two  under 
one  roof,  each  raising  that  quantity. 

The  Abbu  Rochon  not  living  at  Paris,  I  have  not  had  an  op- 
portunity of  seeing  him,  and  of  asking  him  the  questions  you 
desire,  relative  to  the  crystal  of  which  I  wrote  you.  I  shall 
avail  myself  of  the  earliest  opportunity  I  can,  of  doing  it.  I 
shall  cheerfully  execute  your  commands  as  to  the  Encyclopedic, 
when  I  receive  them.  The  price  will  be  only  thirty  guineas. 
About  half  the  work  is  out.  The  volumes  of  your  Button  which 
are  spoiled,  can  be  replaced  here. 

I  expect  that  this  letter  will  be  carried  by  the  Mr.  Fitzhughs, 
in  a  ship  from  Havre  to  Portsmouth.  I  have  therefore  sent  to 
Havre  some  books  which  I  expected  would  be  acceptable  to  you. 
These  are  the  Bibliothcque  Physico-ojconomique,  which  will 
give  you  most  of  the  late  improvements  in  the  Arts  ;  the  Con- 
noissance  des  Tems  for  1786  and  1787,  which  is  as  late  as  they 
are  published  ;  and  some  pieces  on  air  and  fire,  wherein  you  will 


CORRESPONDENCE.  447 

find  all  the  discoveries  hitherto  made  on  these  subjects.  These 
books  are  made  into  a  packet,  with  your  address  on  them,  and 
are  put  into  a  trunk,  wherein  is  a  small  packet  for  Mr.  Wythe, 
another  for  Mr.  Page,  and  a  parcel  of  books,  without  direction, 
for  Peter  Carr.  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  directing  the  trunk 
to  you,  as  the  surest  means  of  its  getting  safe.  I  pay  the  freight 
of  it  here,  so  that  there  will  be  no  new  demands,  but  for  the 
transportation  from  the  ship's  side  to  Williamsburg,  which  I  will 
pray  you  to  pay ;  and  as  much  the  greatest  part  is  for  my  nephew, 
I  will  take  care  to  repay  it  to  you. 

In  the  last  volume  of  the  Connoissance  des  Terns,  you  will 
find  the  tables  for  the  planet  Herschel.  It  is  a  curious  circum- 
stance, that  this  planet  was  seen  thirty  years  ago  by  Mayer,  and 
supposed  by  him  to  be  a  fixed  star.  He  accordingly  determined 
a  place  for  it,  in  his  catalogue  of  the  zodiacal  stars,  making 
it  the  964th  of  that  catalogue.  Bode,  of  Berlin,  observed  in 
1781  that  this  star  was  missing.  Subsequent  calculations  of 
the  motion  of  the  planet  Herschel,  show  that  it  must  have  been, 
at  the  time  of  Mayer's  observation,  where  he  had  placed  his 
964th  star. 

Herschel  has  pushed  his  discoveries  of  double  stars,  now,  to 
upwards  of  nine  hundred,  being  twice  the  number  of  those  com- 
municated in  the  Philosophical  Transactions.  You  have  proba- 
bly seen,  that  a  Mr.  Pigott  had  discovered  periodical  variations 
of  light  in  the  star  Algol.  He  has  observed  the  same  in  the  »?  of 
Antinous,  and  makes  the  period  of  variation  seven  days,  four 
hours,  and  thirty  minutes,  the  duration  of  the  increase  sixty-three 
hours,  and  of  the  decrease  thirty-six  hours.  What  are  we  to 
conclude  from  this  ?  That  there  are  suns  which  have  their  or- 
bits of  revolution  too  ?  But  this  would  suppose  a  wonderful 
harmony  in  their  planets,  and  present  a  new  scene,  where  the 
attracting  powers  should  be  without,  and  not  within  the  orbit. 
The  motion  of  our  sun  would  be  a  miniature  of  this.  But  this 
must  be  left  to  you  astronomers. 

I  went  some  time  ago  to  see  a  machine  which  offers  something 
new.  A  man  had  applied  to  a  light  boat  a  very  large  screw,  the 


448  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

thread  of  which  was  a  thin  plate,  two  feet  broad,  applied  by  its 
edge  spirally  around  a  small  axis.  It  somewhat  resembled  a 
bottle  brush,  if  you  will  suppose  the  hairs  of  the  bottle  brush 
joining  together,  and  forming  a  spiral  plane.  This,  turned  on 
its  axis  in  the  air,  carried  the  vessel  across  the  Seine.  It  is,  in 
fact,  a  screw  which  takes  hold  of  the  air  and  draws  itself  along 
by  it ;  losing,  indeed,  much  of  its  effort  by  the  yielding  nature 
of  the  body  it  lays  hold  of  to  pull  itself  on  by.  I  think  it  may 
be  applied  in  the  water  with  much  greater  effect,  and  to  very 
useful  purposes.  Perhaps  it  may  be  used  also  for  the  balloon. 

It  is  impossible  but  you  must  have  heard  long  ago  of  the  ma- 
chine for  copying  letters  at  a  single  stroke,  as  we  had  received  it 
in  America  before  I  left  there.  I  have  written  a  long  letter  to 
my  nephew,  in  whose  education  I  feel  myself  extremely  inter- 
ested. I  shall  rely  much  on  your  friendship  for  conducting  him 
in  the  plan  I  mark  out  for  him,  and  for  guarding  him  against 
those  shoals  on  which  youth  sometimes  shipwreck.  I  trouble 
you  to  present  to  Mr.  Wythe  my  affectionate  remembrance  of 
him,  and  am,  with  very  great  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and 
servant. 


TO    DR.    FRANKLIN. 

TARTS,  October  5.  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — A  vessel  sailing  from  Havre  to  Philadelphia,  fur- 
nishes the  Messrs.  Fitzhughs  with  a  passage  to  that  place.  To 
them,  therefore,  I  confide  a  number  of  letters  and  packets  which 
I  have "  received  for  you  from  sundry  quarters,  and  which,  I 
doubt  not,  they  will  deliver  safe.  Among  these,  is  one  from 
M.  Du  Plessis.  On  receipt  of  your  letter,  in  answer  to  the  one 
I  had  written  you,  on  the  subject  of  his  memorial,  I  sent  to  M. 
La  Motte ,  M.  Chaumont,  and  wherever  else  I  thought  there  was 
a  probability  of  finding  out  Du  Plessis'  address.  But  all  in  vain 
I  meant  to  examine  his  memoir,  as  you  desired,  and  to  have  it 
copied.  Lately,  he  came  and  brought  it  with  him,  copied  by 


CORRESPONDENCE.  449 

himself.  He  desired  me  to  read  it,  and  enclose  it  to  you,  which 
I  have  done. 

We  have  no  public  news  worth  communicating  to  you,  but  the 
signing  of  preliminaries  between  the  Emperor  and  Dutch.  The 
question  is,  then,  with  whom  the  Emperor  will  pick  the  next 
quarrel.  Oar  treaty  with  Prussia  goes  by  this  conveyance.  But 
it  is  not  to  be  spoken  of,  till  a  convenient  time  is  allowed  for  ex- 
changing ratifications. 

Science  offers  nothing  new  since  your  departure,  nor  any  new 
publication  wortli  your  notice.  All  your  friends  here  are  well. 
Those  in  England,  have  carried  you  captive  to  Algiers.  They 
have  published  a  letter,  as  if  written  by  Truxen,  the  20th  of 
August,  from  Algiers,  stating  the  circumstances  of  the  capture, 
and  that  you  bore  your  slavery  to  admiration.  I  happened  to  re- 
ceive a  letter  from  Algiers,  dated  August  the  24th,  informing  me 
that  two  vessels  were  then  there,  taken  from  us,  and  naming  the 
vessels  and  captains.  This  was  a  satisfactory  proof  to  us,  that 
you  were  not  there.  The  fact  being  so,  we  would  have  gladly 
dispensed  with  the  proof,  as  the  situation  of  our  countrymen 
there,  was  described  as  very  distressing. 

Were  I  to  mention  all  those  who  make  inquiries  after  you, 
there  would  be  no  end  to  my  letter.  I  cannot,  however,  pass 
over  those  of  the  good  old  Countess  d'Hoditot,  with  whom  I 
dined  on  Saturday,  at  Sanois.  They  were  very  affectionate.  I 
hope  you  have  had  a  good  passage.  Your  essay  in  crossing  the 
channel,  gave  us  great  hopes  you  would  experience  little  incon- 
venience on  the  rest  of  the  voyage.  My  wishes  place  you  in 
the  bosom  of  your  friends,  in  good  health,  and  with  a  well- 
grounded  prospect  of  preserving  it  long,  for  your' own  sake,  for 
theirs,  and  that  of  the  world. 

I  am,  with  the  sincerest  attachment  and  respect,  dear  Sir,  your 
most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 

VOL.  i.  29 


450  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 


TO    SAMUEL    OSGOOD. 

PARIS,  October  5,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — It  was  with  very  sincere  pleasure,  I  heard  of  your 
appointment  to  the  hoard  of  treasury,  as  well  from  the  hope  tt  at 
it  might  not  be  disagreeable  to  yourself,  as  from  the  confidence 
that  your  administration  would  be  wise.  I  heartily  wish  the 
States  may,  by  their  contributions,  enable  you  to  re-establish  a 
credit,  which  cannot  be  lower  than  at  present,  to  exist  at  all. 
This  is  partly  owing  to  their  real  deficiencies,  and  partly  to  the 
lies  propagated  by  the  London  papers,  which  are  probably  paid 
for  by  the  minister,  to  reconcile  the  people  to  the  loss  of  us. 
Unluckily,  it  indisposes  them,  at  the  same  time,  to  form  rational 
connections  with  us.  Should  this  produce  the  amendment  of 
our  federal  constitution,  of  which  your  papers  give  us  hopes,  we 
shall  receive  a  permanent  indemnification  for  a  temporary  loss. 

All  things  here,  promise  an  arrangement  between  the  Emperor 
and  Dutch.  Their  ministers  have  signed  preliminary  articles, 
some  of  which,  however,  leave  room  for  further  cavil.  The 
Dutch  pay  ten  millions  of  florins,  yield  some  forts  and  territory, 
arid  the  navigation  of  the  Schelt  to  Saftingen.  Till  our  treaty 
with  England  be  fully  executed,  it  is  desirable  to  us,  that  all  the 
world  should  be  in  peace.  That  done,  their  wars  would  do  us 
little  harm. 

I  find  myself  under  difficulties  here,  which  I  will  take  the  lib- 
erty of  explaining  to  you  as  a  friend.  Mr.  Carmichael  lately 
drew  a  bill  on  Mr.  Grand  for  four  thousand  livres,  I  suppose,  for 
his  salary.  Mr.  Grand  said,  he  was  not  used  to  accept  drafts  but 
by  the  desire  of  Dr.  Franklin,  and  rested  it  on  me  to  say,  whether 
this  bill  should  be  paid  or  not.  I  thought  it  improper,  that  the 
credit  of  so  confidential  a  person  as  Mr.  Carmichael,  should  be 
affected  by  a  refusal,  and  therefore  advised  payment.  Mr.  Dumas 
has  drawn  on  me  for  twenty-seven  hundred  livres,  his  half  year's 
salary,  informing  me  he  always  drew  on  Dr.  Franklin.  I  shall 
advise  the  payment.  I  have  had  loan  office  bills,  drawn  on  the 
commissioners  of  the  United  States,  presented  to  me.  My  an- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  451 

swer  has  been,  "  These  are  very  old  bills.  Had  they  been  pre- 
sented while  those  gentlemen  were  in  Europe,  they  would  have 
been  paid.  You  kept  them  up  till  Dr.  Franklin,  the  last  of  them, 
has  returned  to  America ;  you  must  therefore  send  them  there, 
and  they  will  be  paid.  I  am  not  the  drawee  described  in  the 
bill."  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  meddle  with  these  bills.  The 
gentlemen  who  had  been  familiar  with  them,  from  the  begin- 
ning, who  kept  books  of  them,  and  knew  well  the  form  of  these 
books,  often  paid  bills  twice.  But  how  can  I  interfere  with 
them,  who  have  not  a  scrip  of  a  pen  on  their  subject,  who  never 
saw  a  book  relating  to  them,  and  who,  if  I  had  the  books,  should 
much  oftener  be  bewildered  in  the  labyrinth,  than  the  gentlemen 
Avho  have  kept  them  ?  I  think  it,  therefore,  most  advisable,  that 
what  bills  remain  out,  should  be  sent  back  to  America  for  pay- 
ment, and  therefore  advise  Mr.  Barclay  to  return  thither,  all  the 
books  and  papers  relative  to  them.  There  is  the  proper  and  ulti- 
mate deposit  of  all  records  of  this  nature.  All  these  articles  are 
very  foreign  to  my  talents,  and  foreign  also,  as  I  conceive,  to  the 
nature  of  my  duties.  Dr.  Franklin  was  obliged  to  meddle  with 
them,  from  the  circumstances  which  existed.  But,  these  having 
ceased,  I  suppose  it  practicable  for  your  board  to  direct  the  ad- 
ministration of  your  moneys  here,  in  every  circumstance.  It  is 
only  necessary  for  me  to  draw  my  own  allowances,  and  to  order 
payment  for  services  done  by  others,  by  my  direction,  and  with- 
in the  immediate  line  of  my  office ;  such  as  paying  couriers, 
postage,  and  other  extraordinary  services,  which  must  rest  on  my 
discretion,  and  at  my  risk,  if  disapproved  by  Congress.  I  will 
thank  you  for  your  advice  on  this  subject,  and  if  you  think  a 
resolution  of  your  board  necessary,  I  will  pray  you  to  send  me 
such  a  one,  and  that  it  may  relieve  me  from  all  concerns  with 
the  money  of  the  United  States,  other  than  those  I  have  just 
spoken  of.  I  do  not  mean  by  this,  to  testify  a  disposition  to 
render  no  service  but  what  is  rigorously  within  my  duty.  I  am 
the  farthest  in  the  world  from  this ;  it  is  a  question  I  shall  never 
ask  myself ;  nothing  making  me  more  happy  than  to  render  any 
service  in  my  power,  of  whatever  description.  But  I  wish  only 


452  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

to  be  excused  from  intermeddling  in  business  in  which  I  have  no 
skill,  and  should  do  more  harm  than  good. 

Congress  were  pleased  to  order  me  an  advance  of  two  quarters' 
salary.  At  that  time,  I  supposed  that  I  might  refund  it,  or  spare 
so  much  from  my  expenses,  by  the  time  the  third  quarter  became 
due.  Probably,  they  might  expect  the  same.  But  it  has  been 
impossible.  The  expense  of  my  outfit,  though  I  have  taken  it 
up,  on  a  scale  as  small  as  could  be  admitted,  has  been  very  far 
beyond  what  I  had  conceived.  I  have,  therefore,  not  only  been 
unable  to  refund  the  advance  ordered,  but  been  obliged  to  go  be- 
yond it.  I  wished  to  have  avoided  so  much,  as  was  occasioned 
by  the  purchase  of  furniture.  But  those  who  hire  furniture, 
asked  me  forty  per  cent,  a  year,  for  the  use  of  it.  It  was  better 
to  buy,  therefore  ;  and  this  article,  clothes,  carriage,  &c.,  have 
amounted  to  considerably  more  than  the  advance  ordered.  Per- 
haps, it  may  be  thought  reasonable  to  allow  me  an  outfit.  The 
usage  of  every  other  nation  has  established  this,  and  reason  really 
pleads  for  it.  I  do  not  wish  to  make  a  shilling ;  but  only  my 
expenses  to  be  defrayed,  and  in  a  moderate  style.  On  the  most 
moderate,  which  the  reputation  or  interest  of  those  I  serve,  would 
admit,  it  will  take  me  several  years  to  liquidate  the  advances  for 
my  outfit.  I  mention  this,  to  enable  you  to  understand  the  ne- 
cessities which  have  obliged  me  to  call  for  more  money  than  was 
probably  expected,  and,  understanding  them,  to  explain  them  to 
others.  Being  perfectly  disposed  to  conform  myself  decisively, 
to  what  shall  be  thought  proper,  you  cannot  oblige  me  more, 
than  by  communicating  to  me  your  sentiments  hereon,  which  I 
shall  receive  as  those  of  a  friend,  and  govern  myself  accordingly. 

I  am,  with  the  most  perfect  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and 
servant. 


TO    JOHN   JAY. 

PARIS,  October  6,  1785. 

SIR — My  letter  of  August  the  30th,  acknowledged  the  receipt 
of  yours  of  July  the  13th.     Since  that,  I  have  received  your 


CORRESPONDENCE.  453 

letter  of  August  the  13th,  enclosing  a  correspondence  between 
the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette  and  Monsieur  de  Calonnes,  and  another 
of  the  same  date,  enclosing  the  papers  in  Fortin's  case.  I  imme- 
diately wrote  to  M.  Limozin,  at  Havre,  desiring  he  would  send  me 
a  state  of  the  case,  and  inform  me  what  were  the  difficulties  which 
suspended  its  decision.  He  has  promised  me,  by  letter,  to  do  this 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  I  shall  not  fail  in  attention  to  it. 

The  Emperor  and  Dutch  have  signed  preliminaries,  which  are 
now  made  public.  You  will  see  them  in  the  papers  which  ac- 
company this.  They  still  leave  a  good  deal  to  discussion.  How- 
ever, it  is  probable  they  will  end  in  peace.  The  party  in  Hol- 
land, possessed  actually  of  the  sovereignty,  wish  for  peace,  that 
they  may  push  their  designs  on  the  Stadtholderate.  This  coun- 
try wishes  for  peace,  because  her  financies  need  arrangement. 
The  Bavarian  exchange  has  produced  to  public  view,  that  jeal- 
ousy and  rancor  between  the  courts  of  Vienna  and  Berlin,  which 
existed  before,  though  it  was  smothered.  This  will  appear  by 
the  declarations  of  the  two  courts.  The  demarcation  between 
the  Emperor  and  Turk  does  not  advance.  Still,  however,  I  sup- 
pose neither  of  those  two  germs  of  war  likely  to  open  soon.  I 
consider  the  conduct  of  France  as  the  best  evidence  of  this.  If 
she  had  apprehended  a  war  from  either  of  those  quarters,  she 
would  not  have  been  so  anxious  to  leave  the  Emperor  one  enemy 
the  less,  by  placing  him  at  peace  with  the  Dutch.  While  she  is 
exerting  all  her  powers  to  preserve  peace  by  land,  and  making  no 
preparation  which  indicates  a  fear  of  its  being  disturbed  in  that 
quarter,  she  is  pushing  her  naval  preparations,  with  a  spirit  unex- 
ampled in  time  of  peace.  By  the  opening  of  the  next  spring, 
she  will  have  eighty  ships,  of  seventy-four  guns  and  upwards, 
ready  for  sea,  at  a  moment's  warning ;  and  the  further  construc- 
tions proposed,  will  probably,  within  two  years,  raise  the  number 
to  an  hundred.  New  regulations  have  been  made,  too,  for  per- 
fecting the  classification  of  her  seamen ;  an  institution,  which, 
dividing  all  the  seamen  of  the  nation  into  classes,  subjects  them 
to  tours  of  duty  by  rotation,  and  enables  government,  at  all  times, 
to  man  their  ships.  Their  works  for  rendering  Cherbourg  a  har- 


454  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

bor  for  their  vessels  of  war,  and  Dunkirk,  for  frigates  and  priva- 
teers, leave  now  little  doubt  of  success.  It  is  impossible  that 
these  preparations  can  have  in  view,  any  other  nation  than  the 
English.  Of  course,  they  show  a  greater  diffidence  of  their  peace 
with  them,  than  with  any  other  power. 

I  mentioned  to  you,  in  my  letter  of  August  the  14th,  that  I  had 
desired  Captain  John  Paul  Jones  to  inquire  into  the  circumstances 
of  Peyrouse's  expedition.  I  have  now  the  honor  of  enclosing 
you  copies  of  my  letter  to  him,  and  of  his  answer.  He  refuses 
to  accept  of  my  indemnification  for  his  expenses,  which  is  an  ad- 
ditional proof  of  his  disinterested  spirit,  and  of  his  devotion  to 
the  service  of  America.  The  circumstances  are  obvious,  which 
indicate  an  intention  to  settle  factories,  and  not  colonies,  at  least 
for  the  present.  However,  nothing  shows  for  what  place  they 
are  destined.  The  conjectures  are  divided  between  New  Hol- 
land, and  the  Northwest  coast  of  America. 

According  to  what  I  mentioned  in  my  letter  of  August  30th, 
I  have  appointed  Mr.  Short  my  secretary  here.  I  enclose  to  you 
copies  of  my  letters  to  him  and  Mr.  Grand,  which  will  show  to 
Congress  that  he  stands  altogether  at  their  pleasure.  I  mention 
this  circumstance,  that,  if  what  I  have  done  meets  with  their 
disapprobation,  they  may  have  the  goodness  to  signify  it  imme- 
diately, as  I  should  otherwise  conclude  that  they  do  not  disap- 
prove it.  I  shall  be  ready  to  conform  myself  to  what  would  be 
most  agreeable  to  them. 

This  will  be  accompanied  by  the  gazettes  of  France  and  Ley- 
den,  to  the  present  date. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  esteem 
and  respect,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    ELBRIDGE    GERRY. 

PARIS,  October  11,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  received,  last  night,  the  letter  signed  by  your- 
self and  the  other  gentlemen,  delegates  of  Massachusetts  and 
Virginia,  recommending  Mr.  Sayer  for  the  Barbary  negotiations. 


COKKESPONDENCE.  455 

As  that  was  the  first  moment  of  its  suggestion  to  me,  you  will 
perceive,  by  my  letter  of  this  day,  to  Mr.  Jay,  that  the  business 
was  already  established  in  other  hands,  as  your  letter  came  at  the 
same  time  with  the  papers  actually  signed  by  Mr.  Adams,  for 
Messrs.  Barclay  and  Lambe,  according  to  arrangements  previously 
taken  between  us.  I  should,  with  great  satisfaction,  have  ac- 
ceded to  the  recommendation  in  the  letter  :  not  indeed  as  to  Mo- 
rocco, because,  no  better  man  than  Mr.  Barclay  could  have  been 
substituted ;  but  as  to  Algiers,  Mr.  Lambe  being  less  known  to 
me.  However,  I  hope  well  of  him,  and  rely  considerably  on  the 
aid  he  will  receive  from  his  secretary,  Mr.  Randall,  who  bears  a 
very  good  character.  I  suppose  Mr.  Adams  entitled  to  the  same 
just  apology,  as  matters  were  settled  otherwise,  before  he  proba- 
bly received  your  letter.  I  pray  you  to  communicate  this  to  the 
other  gentlemen  of  your  and  our  delegation,  as  my  justification. 

The  peace  made  between  the  Emperor  and  Dutch  leaves 
Europe  quiet  for  this  campaign.  As  yet,  we  do  not  know  where 
the  storm,  dissipated  for  the  moment,  will  gather  again.  Proba- 
bly over  Bavaria  or  Turkey.  But  this  will  be  for  another  year. 

When  our  instructions  were  made  out,  they  were  conceived 
on  a  general  scale,  and  supposed  that  all  the  European  nations 
would  be  disposed  to  form  commercial  connections  with  us.  It 
is  evident,  however,  that  a  very  different  degree  of  importance 
was  annexed  to  these  different  States.  Spain,  Portugal,  England 
and  France,  were  most  important.  Holland,  Sweden,  Denmark, 
in  a  middling  degree.  The  others,  still  less  so.  Spain  treats  in 
another  line.  Portugal  is  disposed  to  do  the  same.  England 
will  not  treat  at  all ;  nor  will  France,  probably,  add  to  her  former 
treaty.  Failing  in  the  execution  of  these  our  capital  objects,  it 
has  appeared  to  me  that  the  pushing  the  treaties  with  the  lesser 
powers  might  do  us  more  harm  than  good,  by  hampering  the 
measures  the  States  may  find  it  necessary  to  take,  for  securing 
those  commercial  interests,  by  separate  measures,  which  is  refused 
to  be  done  here,  in  concert.  I  have  understood  through  various 
channels,  that  the  members  of  Congress  wished  a  change  in  our 
instructions.  I  have,  in  my  letter  to  Mr.  Jay,  of  this  date,  men- 


456  JEFFERSON'S   WOKKS. 

tioned  the  present  situation  and  aspect  of  these  treaties,  for  their 
information. 

My  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  to  Mr.  Jay,  having  communicated 
what  little  there  is  new  here,  I  have  only  to  add  assurances  of 
the  sincere  esteem  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  Sir, 
your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    THE    COUNT    DE    VERGENNES. 

PARIS,  Otober  11,  1785. 

SIR, — I  have  the  honor  of  enclosing  to  your  Excellency  a  re- 
port of  the  voyage  of  an  American  ship,  the  first  which  has  gone 
to  China.  The  circumstances  which  induces  Congress  to  direct 
this  communication  is  the  very  friendly  conduct  of  the  consul  of 
his  Majesty  at  Macao,  and  of  the  commanders  and  other  officers 
of  the  French  vessels  in  those  seas.  It  has  been  with  singular 
satisfaction  that  Congress  have  seen  these  added  to  the  many 
other  proofs  of  the  cordiality  of  this  nation  towards  our  citizens. 
It  is  the  more  pleasing,  when  it  appears  in  the  officers  of  gov- 
ernment, because  it  is  then  viewed  as  an  emanation  of  the  spirit 
of  the  government.  It  would  be  an  additional  gratification  to 
Congress,  in  this  particular  instance,  should  any  occasion  arise 
of  notifying  those  officers,  that  their  conduct  has  been  justly  re- 
presented to  your  Excellency  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
and  has  met  your  approbation.  Nothing  will  be  wanting,  on  our 
part,  to  foster  corresponding  dispositions  in  our  citizens,  and  we 
hope  that  proofs  of  their  actual  existence  have  appeared,  and  will 
appear,  whenever  occasion  shall  offer.  A  sincere  affection  be- 
tween the  two  people  is  the  broadest  basis  on  which  their  peace 
can  be  built. 

It  will  always  be  among  the  most  pleasing  functions  of  my 
office,  to  be  made  the  channel  of  communicating  the  friendly 
sentiments  of  the  two  governments.  It  is  additionally  so,  as  it 
gives  me  an  opportunity  of  assuring  your  Excellency  of  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  457 

high  respect  and  esteem  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    JOHN    JAY. 

PARIS,  October  11,  1785. 

SIR, — In  my  letter  of  August  the  14th,  I  had  the  honor  of  ex- 
pressing to  you  the  uneasiness  I  felt,  at  the  delay  of  the  instruc- 
tions on  the  subject  of  the  Barbary  treaties,  of  which  Mr.  Lambe 
was  the  bearer,  and  of  informing  you  that  I  had  proposed  to  Mr. 
Adams,  that  if  he  did  not  arrive  either  in  the  French  or  English 
packets,  then  expected,  we  should  send  some  person  to  negotiate 
these  treaties.  As  he  did  not  arrive  in  these  packets,  and  I  found 
Mr.  Barclay  was  willing  to  undertake  the  negotiations,  I  wrote  to 
Mr.  Adams  (who  had  concurred  in  the  proposition  made  him),  in- 
forming him  that  Mr.  Barclay  would  go,  and  proposing  papers 
for  our  immediate  signature.  The  day  before  the  return  of  the 
courier,  Mr.  Lambe  arrived  with  our  instructions,  the  letters  of  cre- 
dence, &c.,  enclosed  in  yours  of  March  the  llth,  1785.  Just 
about  the  same  time,  came  to  hand  the  letter  No.  1,  informing 
me,  that  two  American  vessels  were  actually  taken  and  carried 
into  Algiers,  and  leaving  no  further  doubt  that  that  power  was 
exercising  hostilities  against  us,  in  the  Atlantic.  .The  conduct 
of  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  had  been  such,  as  forbade  us  to  post- 
pone his  treaty  to  that  with  Algiers.  But  the  commencement  of 
hostilities  by  the  latter,  and  their  own  activity,  pressed  the  ne- 
cessity of  immediate  propositions  to  them.  It  was  therefore 
thought  best,  while  Mr.  Barclay  should  be  proceeding  with  the 
Emperor  of  Morocco,  that  some  other  agent  should  go  to  Algiers. 
We  had  few  subjects  to  choose  out  of.  Mr.  Lambe's  knowledge 
of  the  country,  of  its  inhabitants,  of  their  manner  of  transacting 
business,  the  recommendations  from  his  State  to  Congress  of  his 
fitness  for  this  employment,  and  other  information  founding  a  pre- 
sumption that  he  would  be  approved,  occasioned  our  concluding 


458  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

to  send  him  to  Algiers.  The  giving  him  proper  authorities,  and 
new  ones  to  Mr.  Barclay  conformable  to  our  own  powers,  was 
the  subject  of  a  new  courier  between  Mr.  Adams  and  myself. 
He  returned  last  night,  and  I  had  the  honor  of  enclosing  you 
copies  of  all  the  papers  we  furnish  those  gentlemen  with  ;  which 
will  possess  Congress  fully  of  our  proceedings  herein.  They  are 
numbered  from  two  to  ten  inclusive.  The  supplementary  in- 
struction to  Mr.  Lambe,  No.  5,  must  rest  for  justification  on  the 
emergency  of  the  case.  The  motives  which  led  to  it  must  be 
found  in  the  feelings  of  the  human  heart,  in  a  partiality  for  those 
sufferers  who  are  of  our  own  country,  and  in  the  obligations  of 
every  government  to  yield  protection  to  their  citizens,  as  the 
consideration  of  their  obedience.  It  will  be  a  comfort  to  know 
that  Congress  does  not  disapprove  this  step. 

Considering  the  treaty  with  Portugal  among  the  most  interest- 
ing to  the  United  States,  I  some  time  ago  took  occasion  at  Ver- 
sailles, to  ask  of  the  Portuguese  ambassador  if  he  had  yet  re- 
ceived from  his  court  an  answer  to  our  letter.  He  told  me  he 
had  not ;  but  that  he  would  make  it  the  subject  of  another  let- 
ter. Two  days  ago,  his  secretaire  d'ambassade  called  on  me, 
with  a  letter  from  his  minister  to  the  ambassador,  in  which  was 
the  following  paragraph,  as  he  translated  it  to  me  ;  and  I  com- 
mitted it  to  writing  from  his  mouth.  "  Your  Excellency  has 
communicated  to  us  the  substance  of  your  conversation  with  the 
American  minister.  That  power  ought  to  have  been  already 
persuaded,  by  the  manner  in  which  its  vessels  have  been  received 
here  ;  and  consequently  that  his  Majesty  would  have  much  satis- 
faction, in  maintaining  perfect  harmony  and  good  understanding 
with  the  same  United  States.  But  it  would  be  proper  to  begin 
with  the  reciprocal  nomination,  on  both  sides,  of  persons,  who, 
at  least  with  the  character  of  agents,  might  reciprocally  inform 
their  constituents  of  what  might  conduce  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
interests  of  the  two  nations,  without  prejudice  to  either.  This 
first  step  appears  necessary  to  lead  to  the  proposed  object." 

By  this,  it  would  seem,  that  this  power  is  more  disposed  to 
pursue  a  track  of  negotiation,  similar  to  that  which  Spain  has 


CORRESPONDENCE.  459 

done.  I  consider  this  answer  as  definitive  of  all  further  measures, 
under  our  commission  to  Portugal.  That  to  Spain  was  super- 
seded by  proceedings  in  another  line.  That  to  Prussia  is  con- 
cluded by  actual  treaty ;  to  Tuscany  will  probably  be  so ;  and 
perhaps  to  Denmark  ;  and  these,  I  believe,  will  be  the  sum  of  the 
effects  of  our  commissions  for  making  treaties  of  alliance.  Eng- 
land shows  no  disposition  to  treat.  France,  should  her  ministers 
be  able  to  keep  the  ground  of  the  Arret  of  August  1784  against 
the  clamors  of  her  merchants,  and  should  they  be  disposed,  here- 
after, to  give  us  more,  very  probably  will  not  bind  herself  to  it 
by  treaty,  but  keep  her  regulations  dependent  on  her  own  will. 
Sweden  will  establish  a  free  port  at  St.  Bartholemew's,  which, 
perhaps,  will  render  any  new  engagement,  on  our  part,  unneces- 
sary. Holland  is  so  immovable  in  her  system  of  colony  admin- 
istration, that,  as  propositions  to  her,  on  that  subject,  would  be 
desperate,  they  had  better  not  be  made.  You  will  perceive  by 
the  letter  No.  11,  from  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  that  there  is  a 
a  possibility  of  an  overture  from  the  Emperor.  A  hint  from  the 
charge  des  affaires  of  Naples,  lately,  has  induced  me  to  suppose 
something  of  the  same  kind  from  thence.  But  the  advanced 
period  of  our  commissions  now  offers  good  cause  for  avoiding 
to  begin  what  probably  cannot  be  terminated  during  their  con- 
tinuance ;  and  with  respect  to  these  two,  and  all  other  powers 
not  before  mentioned,  I  doubt  whether  the  advantages  to  be  de- 
rived from  treaties  with  them  will  countervail  the  additional 
embarrassments  they  may  impose  on  the  States,  when  they  shall 
proceed  to  make  those  commercial  arrangements  necessary  to 
counteract  the  designs  of  the  British  cabinet.  I  repeat  it,  there- 
fore, that  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  with  Prussia,  and  the 
probability  of  others  with  Denmark,  Tuscany,  and  the  Barbary 
States,  may  be  expected  to  wind  up  the  proceedings  of  the  gen- 
eral commissions.  I  think  that,  in  possible  events,  it  may  be 
advantageous  to  us,  by  treaties  with  Prussia,  Denmark,  and 
Tuscany,  to  have  secured  ports  in  Northern  and  Mediterranean 
seas.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect 
and  esteem,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO    MR.    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  October  11,  1785 

DEAR  SIR, — Colonel  Franks  and  Mr.  Randolph  arrived  last 
night.  This  enables  me  to  send  copies  of  all  the  Barbary  papers 
to  Congress  by  the  Mr.  Fitzhughs,  together  with  the  Prussian 
treaty.  They  wait  till  to-morrow  for  that  purpose.  Considering 
the  treaty  with  Portugal  as  among  the  most  important  to  the 
United  States,  I,  some  time  ago,  took  occasion  at  Versailles  to 
ask  the  Portuguese  Ambassador  if  he  had  not  received  an  an- 
swer from  his  court  on  the  subject  of  our  treaty.  He  said  not, 
but  that  he  would  write  again.  His  secretaire  de  ambassade 
called  on  me  two  days  ago,  and  translated  into  French,  as  fol- 
lows, a  paragraph  of  a  letter  from  his  minister  to  the  ambassa- 
dor :  "  Relativement  a  ce  que  V.  E.  nous  a  fait  part  de  ce  qu'elle 
avoit  parle  avec  le  ministre  de  PAmeriqtie,  cette  puissance  doit 
etre  di/j.1  persuadce  par  d'effets  la  manure  dont  ses  vaisseaux  ont 
etc  accueillis  ici ;  et  par  consequence  sa  majeste  auroit  beacoup 
de  satisfaction  a  entretenir  une  parfaite  harmonic  et  bon  corre- 
spondence entre  les  monies  Etats  Unis.  Mais  il  seroit  u  propos  de 
commcncer  par  la  nomination  rJciproque  des  deux  parties  des 
personnes,  qui,  an  moins  avec  la  caractere  d'agens,  informeroient 
rcciproquement  leurs  constituents  de  ce  qui  pourroit  conduire  a. 
la  connoisance  des  int^rets  des  deux  nations  sans  prejudice  de  1'im 
ou  de  Pautre.  C'est  le  premier  pas  qu'il  paroit  convenable  de 
donner  pour  conduire  a  la  fin  propos'e."  By  this,  I  suppose, 
they  will  prefer  proceeding  as  Spain  has  done,  and  that  we  may 
consider  it  as  definitive  of  our  commission  to  them.  I  commu- 
nicate it  to  Congress  that  they  may  take  such  other  measures  for 
leading  on  a  negotiation  as  they  may  think  proper. 

You  know  that  the  3d  article  of  instructions  of  October  29, 
1783,  to  the  ministers  for  negotiating  peace,  directed  them  to 
negotiate  the  claim  for  the  prizes  taken  by  the  alliance  and  sent 
into  Bergen,  but  delivered  up  by  the  Court  of  Denmark  ;  you 
recollect,  also,  that  this  has  been  deferred  in  order  to  be  taken  up 
with  the  general  negotiation  for  an  alliance.  Captain  Jones, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  461 

desiring  to  go  to  America,  proposed  to  me  that  he  should  leave 
the  solicitation  of  this  matter  in  the  hands  of  Doctor  Bancroft, 
and  to  ask  you  to  negotiate  it,  through  the  minister  of  Denmark 
at  London.  The  delay  of  Baron  Waltersdorf  is  one  reason  for 
this.  Your  better  acquaintance  with  the  subject  is  a  second. 
The  Danish  minister  here  being  absent,  is  a  third.  And  a  fourth 
and  more  conclusive  one  is  that,  having  never  acted  as  one  of 
the  commissioners  for  negotiating  the  peace,  I  feel  an  impropriety 
in  meddling  with  it  at  all,  and  much  more  to  become  the  principal 
agent.  I  therefore  told  Captain  Jones  I  would  solicit  your  care 
of  this  business.  I  believe  he  writes  to  you  on  the  subject. 

Mr.  Barclay  sets  out  in  two  or  three  days.  Lambe  will  follow 
as  soon  as  the  papers  can  be  got  from  this  ministry.  Having  no 
news,  I  shall  only  add  assurances  of  the  esteem  with  which  I 
am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    MESSRS.    VAN    STAPHORST. 

PAUIS,  October  12,  1785. 

GENTLEMEN, — The  receipt  of  your  favor,  of  September  the 
19th,  should  not  have  been  so  long  unacknowledged,  but  that  I 
have  been  peculiarly  and  very  closely  engaged  ever  since  it  came 
to  hand. 

With  respect  to  the  expediency  of  the  arrangement  you  pro- 
pose to  make  with  Mr.  Parker,  I  must  observe  to  you,  that  it 
would  be  altogether  out  of  my  province  to  give  an  official  opin- 
ion for  your  direction.  These  transactions  appertain  altogether 
to  the  commissioners  of  the  treasury,  to  whom  you  have  very 
properly  written  on  the  occasion.  I  shall  always  be  willing, 
however,  to  apprise  you  of  any  facts  I  may  be  acquainted  with, 
and  which  might  enable  you  to  proceed  with  more  certainty ; 
and  even  to  give  my  private  opinion,  where  I  am  acquainted 
with  the  subject,  leaving  you  the  most  perfect  liberty  to  give  it 
what  weight  you  may  think  proper.  In  the  present  case,  I  can- 
not give  even  a  private  opinion,  because  I  am  not  told  what  are 


462  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

precisely  the  securities  offered  by  Mr.  Parker.  So  various  are 
the  securities  of  the  United  States,  that  unless  they  are  precisely 
described  by  their  dates,  consideration,  and  other  material  cir- 
cumstances, no  man  on  earth  can  say  what  they  are  worth. 
One  fact,  however,  is  certain,  that  all  debts  of  any  considerable 
amount  contracted  by  the  United  States,  while  their  paper  money 
existed,  are  subject  to  a  deduction,  and  not  payable  at  any  fixed 
period.  I  think  I  may  venture  to  say,  also,  that  there  are  no 
debts  of  the  United  States,  "  on  the  same  footing  with  the  money 
loaned  by  Holland,"  except  those  due  to  the  Kings  of  France 
and  Spain.  However,  I  hope  you  will  soon  receive  the  answer 
of  the  commissioners,  which  alone  can  decide  authoritatively 
what  is  to  be  done. 

Congress  have  thought  proper  to  entrust  to  Mr.  Adams  and 
myself  a  certain  business,  which  may  eventually  call  for  great 
advances  of  money,  perhaps  four  hundred  thousand  livres  or  up- 
wards. They  have  authorized  us  to  draw  for  this  on  their  funds 
in  Holland.  The  separate  situation  of  Mr.  Adams  and  myself, 
rendering  joint  drafts  inconvenient,  we  have  agreed  that  they 
shall  be  made  by  him  alone.  You  will  be  pleased,  therefore,  to 
give  the  same  credit  to  these  bills,  drawn  by  him,  as  if  they  were 
also  subscribed  by  me. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  high  respect,  Gentlemen,  your 
most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    MONSIEUR    DESBORDES. 

PARTS,  October  12,  1785. 

SIR, — There  are  in  the  prison  of  St.  Pol  de  Leon  six  or  seven 
citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America,  charged  with  having 
attempted  a  contraband  of  tobacco,  but,  as  they  say  themselves, 
forced  into  that  port  by  stress  of  weather.  I  believe  that  they 
are  innocent.  Their  situation  is  described  me  to  be  as  deplora- 
ble as  should  be  that  of  men  found  guilty  of  the  worst  of 
crimes.  They  are  in  close  jail,  allowed  three  sous  a  day  only, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  463 

and  unable  to  speak  a  word  of  the  language  of  the  country.  1 
hope  their  distress,  which  it  is  my  duty  to  relieve,  and  the  recom- 
mendation of  Mr.  Barclay  to  address  myself  to  you,  will  apolo- 
gize for  the  liberty  I  take  of  asking  you  to  advise  them  what  to 
do  for  their  defence,  to  engage  some  good  lawyer  for  them,  and 
to  pass  to  them  the  pecuniary  reliefs  necessary.  I  write  to  Mr. 
Lister  Asquith,  the  owner  of  the  vessel,  that  he  may  draw  bills 
on  me,  from  time  to  time,  for  a  livre  a  day  for  every  person  of 
them,  and  what  may  be  necessary  to  engage  a  lawyer  for  him. 
I  will  pray  the  favor  of  you  to  furnish  him  money  for  his  bills, 
drawn  on  me  for  these  purposes,  which  I  will  pay  on  sight. 
You  will  judge  if  he  should  go  beyond  this  allowance,  and  be 
so  good  as  to  reject  the  surplus.  I  must  desire  his  lawyer  to  send 
me  immediately  a  state  of  their  case,  and  let  me  know  in  what 
court  their  process  is,  and  when  it  is  likely  to  be  decided.  I 
hope  the  circumstances  of  the  case  will  excuse  the  freedom  I 
take ;  and  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  Sir,  your 
most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    HOGENDORP. 

TAIUS,  October    13,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Having  been  much  engaged  lately,  I  have  been 
unable  sooner  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  favor  of  Sep- 
tember the  8th.  What  you  are  pleased  to  say  on  the  subject  of 
my  Notes  is  more  than  they  deserve.  The  condition  in  which 
you  first  saw  them  would  prove  to  you  how  hastily  they  had 
been  originally  written,  as  you  may  remember  the  numerous  in- 
sertions I  had  made  in  them  from  time  to  time,  when  I  could  find 
a  moment  for  turning  to  them  from  other  occupations.  I  have 
never  yet  seen  Monsieur  de  Buffon.  He  has  been  in  the  country 
all  the  summer.  I  sent  him  a  copy  of  the  book,  and  have  only 
heard  his  sentiments  on  one  particular  of  it,  that  of  the  identity 
of  the  mammoth  and  elephant.  As  to  this,  he  retains  his  opin- 
ion that  they  are  the  same.  If  you  had  formed  any  considerable 


464  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

expectations  from  our  revised  code  of  laws,  you  will  be  much 
disappointed.  It  contains  not  more  than  three  or  four  laws  which 
could  strike  the  attention  of  a  foreigner.  Had  it  been  a  digest 
of  all  our  laws,  it  would  not  have  been  comprehensible  or  in- 
structive but  to  a  native.  'But  it  is  still  less  so,  as  it  digests  only 
the  British  statutes  and  our  own  acts  of  Assembly,  which  are  but 
a  supplementary  part  of  our  law.  The  great  basis  of  it  is  ante- 
rior to  the  date  of  the  Magna  Charta,  which  is  the  oldest  statute 
extant.  The  only  merit  of  this  work  is,  that  it  may  remove  from 
our  book  shelves  about  twenty  folio  volumes  of  our  statutes,  re- 
taining all  the  parts  of  them  which  cither  their  own  merit  or  the 
established  system  of  laws  required. 

You  ask  me  what  are  those  operations  of  the  British  nation 
which  are  likely  to  befriend  us,  and  how  they  will  produce  this 
effect  ?  The  British  government,  as  you  may  naturally  suppose, 
have  it  much  at  heart  to  reconcile  their  nation  to  the  loss  of 
America.  This  is  essential  to  the  repose,  perhaps  even  to  the 
safety  of  the  King  and  his  ministers.  The  most  effectual  engines 
for  this  purpose  are  the  public  papers.  You  know  well  that  that 
government  always  kept  a  kind  of  standing  army  of  news-wri- 
ters, who,  without  any  regard  to  truth,  or  to  what  should  be  like 
truth,  invented  and  put  into  the  papers  whatever  might  serve  the 
ministers.  This  suffices  with  the  mass  of  the  people,  who  have 
no  means  of  distinguishing  the  false  from  the  true  paragraphs  of 
a  newspaper.  When  forced  to  acknowledge  our  independence, 
they  were  forced  to  redouble  their  efforts  to  keep  the  nation  quiet. 
Instead  of  a  few  of  the  papers  formerly  engaged,  they  now  en- 
gaged every  one.  No  paper,  therefore,  comes  out  without  a  dose 
of  paragraphs  against  America.  These  are  calculated  for  a  sec- 
ondary purpose  also,  that  of  preventing  the  emigrations  of  their 
people  to  America.  They  dwell  very  much  on  American  bank- 
ruptcies. To  explain  these  would  require  a  long  detail,  but 
would  show  you  that  nine-rtenths  of  these  bankruptcies  are  truly 
English  bankruptcies,  in  no  wise  chargeable  on  America.  How- 
ever, they  have  produced  effects  the  most  desirable  of  all  others 
for  us.  They  have  destroyed  our  credit,  and  thus  checked  our 


CORRESPONDENCE.  465 

disposition  to  luxury  ;  and,  forcing  our  merchants  to  buy  no  more 
than  they  have  ready  money  to  pay  for,  they  force  them  to  go 
to  those  markets  where  that  ready  money  will  buy  most.  Thus 
you  see,  they  check  our  luxury,  they  force  us  to  connect  our- 
selves with  all  the  world,  and  they  prevent  foreign  emigrations 
to  our  country,  all  of  which  I  consider  as  advantageous  to  us. 
They  are  doing  us  another  good  turn.  They  attempt,  without 
disguise,  to  possess  themselves  of  the  carriage  of  our  produce, 
and  to  prohibit  our  own  vessels  from  participating  of  it.  This 
has  raised  a  general  indignation  in  America.  The  States  see, 
however,  that  their  constitutions  have  provided  no  means  of 
counteracting  it.  They  are,  therefore,  beginning  to  invest  Con- 
gress with  the  absolute  power  of  regulating  their  commerce,  only 
reserving  all  revenue  arising  from  it  to  the  State  in  which  it  is 
levied.  This  will  consolidate  our  federal  building  very  much, 
and  for  this  we  shall  be  indebted  to  the  British. 

You  ask  what  I  think  on  the  expediency  of  encouraging  our 
States  to  be  commercial  ?  Were  I  to  indulge  my  own  theory,  I 
should  wish  them  to  practise  neither  commerce  nor  navigation, 
but  to  stand,  with  respect  to  Europe,  precisely  on  the  footing  of 
China.  We  should  thus  avoid  wars,  and  all  our  citizens  would 
be  husbandmen.  Whenever,  indeed,  our  numbers  should  so  in- 
crease as  that  our  produce  would  overstock  the  markets  of  those 
nations  who  should  come  to  seek  it,  the  farmers  must  either  em- 
ploy the  surplus  of  their  time  in  manufactures,  or  the  surplus  of 
our  hands  must  be  employed  in  manufactures  or  in  navigation. 
But  that  day  would,  I  think,  be  distant,  and  we  should  long 
keep  our  workmen  in  Europe,  while  Europe  should  be  drawing 
rough  materials,  and  even  subsistence  from  America.  But  this 
is  theory  only,  and  a  theory  which  the  servants  of  America  are 
not  at  liberty  to  follow.  Our  people  have  a  decided  taste  for  nav- 
igation and  commerce.  They  take  this  from  their  mother  coun- 
try ;  and  their  servants  are  in  duty  bound  to  calculate  all  their 
measures  on  this  datum :  we  wish  to  do  it  by  throwing  open  all 
the  doors  of  commerce,  and  knocking  off  its  shackles.  But  as 
this  cannot  be  done  for  others,  unless  they  will  do  it  for  us,  and 
VOL.  i.  30 


466  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

there  is  no  great  probability  that  Europe  will  do  this,  I  suppose 
we  shall  be  obliged  to  adopt  a  system  which  may  shackle  them 
in  our  ports,  as^  they  do  us  in  theirs. 

With  respect  to  the  sale  of  our  lands,  that  cannot  begin  till  a 
considerable  portion  shall  have  been  surveyed.  They  cannot 
begin  to  survey  till  the  fall  of  the  leaf  of  this  year,  nor  to  sell 
probably  till  the  ensuing  spring.  So  that  it  will  be  yet  a  twelve- 
month before  we  shall  be  able  to  judge  of  the  efficacy  of  our 
land  office  to  sink  our  national  debt.  It  is  made  a  fundamental, 
that  the  proceeds  shall  be  solely  and  sacredly  applied  as  a  sinking 
fund  to  discharge  the  capital  only  of  the  debt. 

It  is  true  that  the  tobaccos  of  Virginia  go  almost  entirely  to 
England.  The  reason  is,  the  people  of  that  State  owe  a  great 
debt  there,  which  they  are  paying  as  fast  as  they  can.  I  think  I 
have  now  answered  your  several  queries,  and  shall  be  happy  to 
receive  your  reflections  on  the  same  subjects,  and  at  all  times  to 
hear  of  your  welfare,  and  to  give  you  assurances  of  the  esteem, 
with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedi- 
ent, and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    J.    BANNISTER,    JUNIOR. 

PARIS,  October  15,  17S5. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  should  sooner  have  answered  the  paragraph  in 
your  letter,  of  September  the  19th,  respecting  the  best  seminary 
for  the  education  of  youth  in  Europe,  but  that  it  was  necessary 
for  me  to  make  inquiries  on  the  subject.  The  result  of  these  has 
been,  to  consider  the  competition  as  resting  between  Geneva  and 
Rome.  They  are  equally  cheap,  and  probably  are  equal  in  the 
course  of  education  pursued.  The  advantage  of  Geneva  is,  that 
students  acquire  there  the  habit  of  speaking  French.  The  ad- 
vantages of  Rome  are,  the  acquiring  a  local  knowledge  of  a  spot 
so  classical  and  so  celebrated  ;  the  acquiring  the  true  pronounci- 
ation  of  the  Latin  language  ;  a  just  taste  in  the  fine  arts,  more 


CORRESPONDENCE.  467 

particularly  those  of  painting,  sculpture,  architecture,  and  music  ; 
a  familiarity  with  those  objects  and  processes  of  agriculture 
which  experience  has  shown  best  adapted  to  a  climate  like  ours  ; 
and  lastly,  the  advantage  of  a  fine  climate  for  health.  It  is  prob- 
able, too,  that  by  being  boarded  in  a  French  family,  the  habit 
of  speaking  that  language  may  be  obtained.  I  do  not  count  on 
any  advantage  to  be  derived,  in  Geneva,  from  a  familiar  acquaint- 
ance with  the  principles  of  that  government.  The  late  revolu- 
tion has  rendered  it  a  tyrannical  aristocracy,  more  likely  to  give 
ill  than  good  ideas  to  an  American.  I  think  the  balance  in  fa- 
vor of  Rome.  Pisa  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  a  place  of  educa- 
tion. But  it  does  not  offer  the  first  and  third  of  the  advantages 
of  Rome.  But  why  send  an  American  youth  to  Europe  for 
education  ?  What  are  the  objects  of  an  useful  American  educa- 
tion ?  Classical  knowledge,  modern  languages,  chiefly  French, 
Spanish,  and  Italian  ;  Mathematics,  Natural  'philosophy,  Natural 
history,  Civil  history,  and  Ethics.  In  Natural  philosophy,  I  mean 
to  include  Chemistry  and  Agriculture,  and  in  natural  history,  to 
include  Botany,  as  well  as  the  other  branches  of  those  depart- 
ments. It  is  true  that  the  habit  of  speaking  the  modern  lan- 
guages cannot  be  so  well  acquired  in  America  ;  but  every  other 
article  can  be  as  well  acquired  at  William  and  Mary  college,  as 
at  any  place  in  Europe.  When  college  education  is  done  with, 
and  a  young  man  is  to  prepare  himself  for  public  life,  he  must 
cast  his  eyes  (for  America)  either  on  Law  or  Physics.  For  the 
former,  where  can  he  apply  so  advantageously  as  to  Mr.  Wythe  ? 
For  the  latter,  he  must  come  to  Europe  :  the  medical  class  of 
students,  therefore,  is  the  only  one  which  need  come  to  Europe. 
Let  us  view  the  disadvantages  of  sending  a  youth  to  Europe. 
To  enumerate  them  all,  would  require  a  volume.  I  will  select 
a  few.  If  he  goes  to  England,  he  learns  drinking,  horse  racing, 
and  boxing.  These  are  the  peculiarities  of  English  education. 
The  following  circumstances  are  common  to  education  in  that, 
and  the  other  countries  of  Europe.  He  acquires  a  fondness  for 
European  luxury  and  dissipation,  and  a  contempt  for  the  sim- 
plicity of  his  own  country  ;  he  is  fascinated  with  the  privileges 


468  JEFFERSON'S   WORKS. 

of  the  European  aristocrats,  and  sees,  with  abhorrence,  the  lovely 
equality  which  the  poor  enjoy  with  the  rich,  in  his  own  coun- 
try ;  he  contracts  a  partiality  for  aristocracy  or  monarchy ;  he 
forms  foreign  friendships  which  will  never  be  useful  to  him,  and 
loses  the  seasons  of  life  for  forming,  in  his  own  country,  those 
friendships  which,  of  all  others,  are  the  most  faithful  and  per- 
manent ;  he  is  led, by  the  strongest  of  all  the  human  passions, 
into  a  spirit  for  female  intrigue,  destructive  of  his  own  and  oth- 
ers' happiness,  or  a  passion  for  whores,  destructive  of  his  health, 
and,  in  both  cases,  learns  to  consider  fidelity  to  the  marriage  bed 
as  an  ungentlemanly  practice,  and  inconsistent  with  happiness  ; 
he  recollects  the  voluptuary  dress  and  arts  of  the  European  women, 
and  pities  and  despises  the  chaste  affections  and  simplicity  of  those 
of  his  own  country  ;  he  retains,  through  life,  a  fond  recollection, 
and  a  hankering  after  those  places,  which  were  the  scenes  of  his 
first  pleasures  and  of  his  first  connections ;  he  returns  to  his  own 
country,  a  foreigner,  unacquainted  with  the  practices  of  domes- 
tic economy,  necessary  to  preserve  him  from  ruin,  speaking  and 
writing  his  native  tongue  as  a  foreigner,  and  therefore  unquali- 
fied to  obtain  those  distinctions,  which  eloquence  of  the  pen  and 
tongue  ensures  in  a  free  country  ;  for  I  would  observe  to  you, 
that  what  is  called  style  in  writing  or  speaking  is  formed  very 
early  in  life,  while  the  imagination  is  warm,  and  impressions  are 
permanent.  I  am  of  opinion,  that  there  never  was  an  instance 
of  a  man's  writing  or  speaking  his  native  tongue  with  elegance, 
who  passed  from  fifteen  to  twenty  years  of  age  out  of  the  coun- 
try where  it  was  spoken.  Thus,  no  instance  exists  of  a  person's 
writing  two  languages  perfectly.  That  will  always  appear  to  be 
his  native  language,  which  was  most  familiar  to  him  in  his  youth. 
It  appears  to  me,  then,  that  an  American,  coming  to  Europe  for 
education,  loses  in  his  knowledge,  in  his  morals,  in  his  health, 
in  his  habits,  and  in  his  happiness.  I  had  entertained  only 
doubts  on  this  head  before  I  came  to  Europe  :  what  I  see  and 
hear,  since  I  came  here,  proves  more  than  I  had  even  suspected. 
Cast  your  eye  over  America :  who  are  the  men  of  most  learning, 
of  most  eloquence,  most  beloved  by  their  countrymen  and  most 


CORRESPONDENCE.  469 

trusted  and  promoted  by  them  ?  They  are  those  who  have  been 
educated  among  them,  and  whose  manners,  morals,  and  habits, 
are  perfectly  homogeneous  with  those  of  the  country. 

Did  you  expect  by  so  short  a  question,  to  draw  such  a  sermon 
on  yourself  ?  I  dare  say  you  did  not.  But  the  consequences  of 
foreign  education  are  alarming  to  me,  as  an  American.  I  sin, 
therefore,  through  zeal,  whenever  I  enter  on  the  subject.  You 
are  sufficiently  American  to  pardon  me  for  it.  Let  me  hear  of 
your  health,  and  be  assured  of  the  esteem  with  which  I  am, 
dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    BAHON    THULEMEYER. 

PARIS,  October  16,  1785. 

SIR, — I  am  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  letter  of  the 
llth  instant,  with  which  you  have  honored  me,  and  wherein 
you  are  pleased  to  inform  me  of  the  satisfaction  of  his  Prussian 
majesty  of  the  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce  between  him  and 
the  United  States  of  America.  On  our  part,  the  earliest  oppor- 
tunity was  embraced  of  forwarding  it  to  Congress.  It  goes  by 
a  vessel  sailing  about  this  time  from  Havre.  I  shall  with  great 
pleasure  communicate  to  you  its  ratification  by  Congress,  in  the 
first  moment  in  which  it  shall  become  known  to  me,  and  concur 
in  the  measures  necessary  for  exchanging  the  ratifications. 

I  shall  take  the  greatest  care  to  forward  the  letter  you  are 
pleased  to  enclose  for  Baltimore,  according  to  its  address. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  greatest  respect 
and  esteem,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    MR.    CARMICHAEL. 

PARIS,  October  18,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  of  the  29th  of  September,  came  safely 
to  hand :  the  constant  expectation  of  the  departure  of  the  per- 


470  JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 

sons  whom  I  formerly  gave  you  reason  to  expect  has  prevented 
my  writing,  as  it  has  done  yours.  They  will  probably  leave 
this  in  a  week,  but  their  route  will  be  circuitous  and  attended 
with  delays.  Between  the  middle  and  last  of  November,  they 
may  be  with  you.  By  them,  you  will  receive  a  cypher,  by 
which  you  may  communicate  with  Mr.  Adams  and  myself.  I 
should  have  sent  it  by  Baron  Dreyer,  the  Danish  minister ;  but  I 
then  expected  our  own  conveyance  would  have  been  quicker. 
Having  mentioned  this  gentleman,  give  me  leave  to  recommend 
him  to  your  acquaintance.  He  is  plain,  sensible,  and  open  :  he 
speaks  English  well,  and  had  he  been  to  remain  here,  I  should 
have  cultivated  his  acquaintance  much.  Be  so  good  as  to  pre- 
sent me  very  respectfully  to  him. 

This  being  to  go  by  post,  I  shall  only  add  the  few  articles  of 
general  American  news,  by  the  last  packet.  Dr.  Franklin  ar- 
rived in  good  health  at  Philadelphia,  the  15th  ult.,  and  was  re- 
ceived amidst  the  acclamations  of  an  immense  crowd.  No  late 
event  has  produced  greater  demonstrations  of  joy.  It  is  doubted 
whether  Congress  will  adjourn  this  summer ;  but  they  are  so 
thin,  they  do  not  undertake  important  business.  Our  western 
posts  are  in  statu  quo. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your 
friend  and  servant. 


TO    COUNT    DE    ARANDA. 

PARIS,  October  22,  1785. 

SIR, — The  friendly  dispositions  which  the  Court  of  Madrid 
have  been  pleased  to  show  towards  us  in  our  affairs  relative  to 
the  Barbary  Powers,  induce  me  to  trouble  you  with  an  application 
on  that  subject.  We  are  about  sending  persons  to  Morocco  and 
Algiers  to  form  arrangements  with  those  powers.  They  will  go 
by  the  way  of  Madrid.  I  ask  the  favor  of  your  Excellency's 
passports  for  them.  It  would  increase  their  value  much  if  they 
could  protect  those  persons  from  having  their  baggage  searched 


CORRESPONDENCE.  471 

The  one  going  to  Morocco  takes  with  him  about  a  thousand 
guineas  worth  of  watches,  rings,  and  other  things  of  that  nature : 
he  who  goes  to  Algiers  takes  about  a  fourth  of  that  value.  I 
pledge  myself  that  these,  with  their  necessary  clothes,  will  con- 
stitute the  whole  of  their  baggage,  and  that  these  are  neither  to 
be  sold  nor  left  in  Spain.  The  duties  to  which  these  things 
would  be  subject  are  of  no  consideration  with  us.  It  is  to  avoid 
the  delays,  the  difficulties,  and  even  the  losses  which  may  ac- 
crue from  the  examination  of  small  and  precious  things  on  the 
road.  Two  separate  passports  will  be  acceptable :  the  one  for 
Thomas  Barclay,  and  David  S.  Franks,  and  their  servants ;  the 

other  for  John  Lambe  and Randall,  and  their  servants.     We 

propose  to  keep  these  transactions  as  much  as  we  can  from  the 
eyes  of  the  public. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect  and  esteem, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    MESSRS.    VAN    STAPHORSTS. 

PARIS,  October  25,  1785. 

GENTLEMEN, — I  received  yesterday  your  favor  of  the  20th  in- 
stant. In  order  to  give  you  the  information  you  desire  on  the 
subject  of  the  liquidated  debts  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
comparative  footing  on  which  they  stand,  I  must  observe  to  you, 
that  the  first  and  great  division  of  our  federal  debt,  is,  into  1, 
foreign ;  and  2,  domestic.  The  foreign  debt  comprehends,  1, 
the  loan  from  the  government  of  Spain :  2,  the  loans  from  the 
government  of  France,  and  from  the  Farmers  General ;  3,  the 
loans  negotiated  in  Holland,  by  order  of  Congress.  This  branch 
of  our  debt  stands  absolutely  singular ;  no  man  in  the  United 
States  having  ever  supposed  that  Congress,  or  their  legislatures, 
can,  in  any  wise,  modify  or  alter  it.  They  justly  view  the 
United  States  as  the  one  party,  and  the  lenders  as  the  other, 
and  that  the  consent  of  both  would  be  requisite,  were  any  modi- 


472  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

fication  to  be  proposed.  But  with  respect  to  the  domestic 
debt,  they  -consider  Congress  as  representing  both  the  borrowers 
and  lenders,  and  that  the  modifications  which  have  taken  place 
in  this  have  been  necessary  to  do  justice  between  the  two  par- 
ties, and  that  they  flowed  properly  from  Congress  as  their  mu- 
tual umpire.  The  domestic  debt  comprehends  1,  the  army 
debt ;  2,  the  loan  office  debt ;  3,  the  liquidated  debt ;  and  4,  the 
unliquidated  debt.  The  first  term  includes  debts  to  the  officers 
and  soldiers  for  pay,  bounty  and  subsistence.  The  second  term 
means  moneys  put  into  the  loan  office  of  the  United  States. 
The  third  comprehends  all  debts  contracted  by  quarter-masters, 
commissaries,  and  others  duly  authorized  to  procure  supplies  for 
the  army,  and  which  have  been  liquidated  (that  is,  settled)  by 
commissioners  appointed  under  the  resolution  of  Congress,  of 
June  the  12th,  1780,  or  by  the  officer  who  made  the  contract. 
The  fourth  comprehends  the  whole  mass  of  debts,  described  in 
the  preceding  article,  which  have  not  yet  been  liquidated. 
These  are  in  a  course  of  liquidation,  and  are  passing  over  daily 
into  the  third  class.  The  debts  of  this  third  class,  that  is,  the 
liquidated  debt,  is  the  object  of  your  inquiry.  No  time  is  fixed 
for  the  payment  of  it,  no  fund  as  yet  determined,  nor  any  firm 
provision  for  the  interest  in  the  meantime.  The  consequence 
is,  that  the  certificates  of  these  debts  sell  greatly  below  par. 
When  I  left  America,  they  could  be  bought  for  from  two  shil- 
lings and  sixpence  to  fifteen  shillings  in  the  pound :  this  differ- 
ence proceeding  from  the  circumstance  of  some  States  having 
provided  for  paying  the  interest  on  those  due  in  their  own  State, 
which  others  had  not.  Hence,  an  opinion  had  arisen  with 
some,  and  propositions  had  even  been  made  in  the  legislatures, 
for  paying  off  the  principal  of  these  debts  with  what  they  had 
cost  the  holder,  and  interest  on  that.  This  opinion  is  far  from 
being  general,  and  I  think  will  not  prevail.  But  it  is  among 
possible  events. 

I  have  been  thus  particular,  that  you  may  be  able  to  judge,  not 
only  in  the  present  case,  but  also  in  others,  should  any  attempts 
be  made  to  speculate  in  your  city,  on  these  papers.  It  is  a  busi- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  473 

ness,  in  which  foreigners  will  be  in  great  danger  of  being  duped. 
It  is  a  science  which  bids  defiance  to  the  powers  of  reason.  To 
understand  it,  a  man  must  not  only  be  on  the  spot,  and  be  per- 
fectly possessed  of  all  the  circumstances  relative  to  every  species 
of  these  papers,  but  he  must  have  that  dexterity  which  the  habit 
of  buying  and  selling  them  alone  gives.  The  brokers  of  these 
certificates  are  few  in  number,  and  any  other  person  venturing  to 
deal  with  them,  engages  in  a  very  unequal  contest. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  gentlemen,  your 
most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    WILLIAM    CARMICHAEL. 

PARIS,  November  4,  1*785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  had  the  honor  of  writing  you  on  the  18th  of 
October,  and  again,  on  the  25th  of  the  same  month.  Both  letters, 
being  to  pass  through  the  post  offices,  were  confined  to  particular 
subjects.  The  first  of  them  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  yours, 
of  September  the  29th. 

At  length  a  confidential  opportunity  arrives  for  conveying  to  you 
a  cypher ;  it  will  be  handed  you  by  the  bearer,  Mr.  Lambe.  Co- 
pies of  it  are  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Adams,  at  London,  Mr.  Barclay, 
who  is  proceeding  to  Morocco,  and  Mr.  Lambe,  who  is  proceed- 
ing to  Algiers.  This  enables  us  to  keep  up  such  correspondences 
with  each  other,  as  may  be  requisite.  Congress,  in  the  spring  of 
1784,  gave  powers  to  Mr.  Adams,  Dr.  Franklin  and  myself,  to 
treat  with  the  Barbary  States.  But  they  gave  us  no  money  for 
them,  and  the  other  duties  assigned  us  render  it  impossible  for 
us  to  proceed  thither  in  person.  These  things  having  been  rep- 
resented to  them,  they  assigned  to  us  a  certain  sum  of  money,  and 
gave  us  powers  to  delegate  agents  to  treat  with  those  States,  and 
to  form  preliminary  articles,  but  confining  to  us  the  signing  of 
them  in  a  definitive  form.  They  did  not  restrain  us  in  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  agents ;  but  the  orders  of  Congress  were  brought 
to  us  by  Mr.  Lambe,  they  had  waited  for  him  four  months,  and 
the  recommendations  he  brought  pointed  him  out,  in  our  opinion, 


474  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

as  a  person  who  would  meet  the  approbation  of  Congress.  We 
therefore  appointed  him  to  negotiate  with  the  Algerines.  His 
manners  and  appearance  are  not  promising.  But  he  is  a  sensible 
man,  and  seems  to  possess  some  talents  which  may  be  proper  in 
a  matter  of  bargain.  We  have  joined  with  him,  as  secretary,  a 
Mr.  Randall,  from  New  York,  in  whose  prudence  we  hope  he  will 
find  considerable  aid.  They  now  proceed  to  Madrid,  merely 
with  the  view  of  seeing  you,  as  we  are  assured  they  will  receive 
from  you  lights  which  may  be  useful  to  them.  I  hear  that  d'Ex- 
pilly  and  the  Algerine  ministers  have  gone  from  Madrid.  Letters 
from  Algiers,  of  August  the  24th,  inform  me  that  we  had  two  vessels 
and  their  crews  in  captivity  there,  at  that  time.  I  never  had  reason 
to  believe,  certainly,  that  any  others  had  been  captured.  Should 
Mr.  Lambe  have  occasion  to  draw  bills,  while  in  Spain,  on  Mr. 
Adams,  you  may  safely  assure  the  purchasers  that  they  will  be  paid. 

An  important  matter  detains  Mr.  Barclay  some  days  longer, 
and  his  journey  to  Madrid  will  be  circuitous.  Perhaps  he  may 
arrive  there  a  month  later  than  Lambe.  It  would  be  well  if  the 
Emperor  of  Morocco  could,  in  the  meantime,  know  that  such  a 
person  is  on  the  road.  Perhaps  you  may  have  an  opportunity  of 
notifying  this  to  him  officially,  by  asking  from  him  passports 
for  Mr.  Barclay  and  his  suite.  This  would  be  effecting  two  good 
purposes  at  once,  if  you  can  find  an  opportunity. 

Your  letter  of  September  the  2d,  did  not  get  to  my  hands  till 
these  arrangements  were  all  taken  between  Mr.  Adams  and  my- 
self, and  the  persons  appointed.  That  gave  me  the  first  hint  that 
you  would  have  acted  in  this  business.  I  mean  no  flattery  when 
]  assure  you,  that  no  person  would  have  better  answered  my 
wishes.  At  the  same  time,  I  doubt  whether  Mr.  Adams  and  my- 
self should  have  thought  ourselves  justifiable  in  withdrawing  a 
servant  of  the  United  States  from  a  post  equally  important  with 
those  which  prevented  our  acting  personally  in  the  same  busi- 
ness. I  am  sure,  that,  remaining  where  you  are,  you  will  be  able 
to  forward  much  the  business,  and  that  you  will  do  it  with  a  zeal 
you  have  hitherto  manifested  on  every  occasion. 

Your  intercourse  with  America  being  less  frequent  than  ours, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  475 

from  this  place,  I  will  state  to  you,  generally,  such  new  occur- 
rences there,  as  may  be  interesting  ;  some  of  which,  perhaps, 
you  will  not  have  been  informed  of.  It  was  doubtful,  at  the  date 
of  my  last  letters,  whether  Congress  would  adjourn  this  summer. 
They  were  too  thin,  however,  to  undertake  important  business. 
They  had  begun  arrangements  for  the  establishment  of  a  mint. 
The  Dollar  was  decided  on  as  the  money  Unit  of  America.  I  be- 
lieve, they  proposed  to  have  gold,  silver  and  copper  coins,  descend- 
ing and  ascending  decimally ;  viz.,  a  gold  coin  of  ten  dollars,  a 
silver  coin  of  one-tenth  of  a  dollar  (equal  to  a  Spanish  bit),  and 
a  copper  coin  of  one-hundredth  of  a  dollar.  These  parts  of  the 
plan,  however,  were  not  ultimately  decided  on.  They  have 
adopted  the  late  improvement  in  the  British  post  office,  of  send- 
ing their  mails  by  the  stages.  I  am  told,  this  is  done  from  New 
Hampshire  to  Georgia,  and  from  New  York  to  Albany.  Their 
treasury  is  administered  by  a  board,  of  which  Mr.  Walter  Liv- 
ingston, Mr.  Osgood,  and  Dr.  Arthur  Lee,  are  members.  Gover- 
nor Rutledge,  who  had  been  appointed  minister  to  the  Hague,  on 
the  refusal  of  Governor  Livingston,  declines  coming.  We  are  un- 
certain whether  the  States  will  generally  come  into  the  proposition 
of  investing  Congress  with  the  regulation  of  their  commerce.  Mas- 
sachusetts has  passed  an  act,  the  first  object  of  which  seemed  to  be, 
to  retaliate  on  the  British  commercial  measures,  but  in  the  close  of 
it,  they  impose  double  duties  on  all  goods  imported  in  bottoms 
not  wholly  owned  by  citizens  of  our  States.  New  Hampshire 
has  followed  the  example.  This  is  much  complained  of  here, 
and  will  probably  draw  retaliating  measures  from  the  States  of  Eu- 
rope, if  generally  adopted  in  America,  or  not  corrected  by  the 
States  which  have  adopted  it.  It  must  be  our  endeavor  to  keep 
them  quiet  on  this  side  the  water,  under  the  hope  that  our  coun- 
trymen will  correct  this  step ;  as  I  trust  they  will  do.  It  is  no 
ways  akin  to  their  general  system.  I  am  trying  here  to  get 
contracts  for  the  supplying  the  cities  of  France  with  whale  oil, 
by  the  Boston  merchants.  It  would  be  the  greatest  relief  possi- 
ble to  that  State,  whose  commerce  is  in  agonies,  in  consequence 
of  being  subjected  to  alien  duties  on  their  oil,  in  Great  Britain, 


476  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

which  has  been  heretofore  their  only  market.  Can  anything  be 
done,  in  this  way,  in  Spain  ?  Or  do  they  there  light  their  streets 
in  the  night  ? 

A  fracas,  which  has  lately  happened  in  Boston,  becoming  a  se- 
rious matter,  I  will  give  you  the  details  of  it,  as  transmitted  to  Mr. 
Adams  in  depositions.     A  Captain  Stanhope,  commanding  the 
frigate  Mercury,  was  sent  with  a  convoy  of  vessels  from  Nova 
Scotia  to  Boston,  to  get  a  supply  of  provisions  for  that  colony. 
It  had  happened,  that  two  persons  living  near  Boston,  of  the 
names  of  Dunbar  and  Lowthorp,  had  been  taken  prisoners  during 
the  war,  and  transferred  from  one  vessel  to  another,  till  they  were 
placed  on  board  Stanhope's  ship.     He  treated  them  most  cruelly, 
whipping  them  frequently,  in  order  to  make  them  do  duty  against 
their  country,  as  sailors,  on  board  his  ship.     The  ship  going  to 
Antigua  to  refit,  he  put  all  his  prisoners  into  jail,  first  giving  Dunbar 
twenty-four  lashes.     Peace  took  place,  and   the    prisoners  got 
home  under  the  general  liberation.     These  men  were  quietly 
pursuing  their  occupations  at  home,  when  they  heard  that  Stan- 
hope was  in  Boston.     Their  indignation  was  kindled.     They 
immediately  went  there,  and,  meeting  Stanhope  walking  in  the 
mall,  Dunbar  stepped  up  to  him,  and  asked  him  if  he  recollected 
him,  and  the  whipping  him  on  board  his  ship.    Having  no  weapon 
in  his  hand,  he  struck  at  Stanhope  with  his  fist.     Stanhope  step- 
ped back  and  drew  his  sword.      The   people    interposed,  and 
guarded  him  to  the  door  of  a  Mr.  Morton,  to  which  he  retreated. 
There,  Dunbar  again  attempted  to  seize  him  ;  but  the  high  sheriff 
had  by  this  time  arrived,  who  interposed  and  protected  him.    The 
assailants  withdrew,  and  here  ended  all  appearance  of  force.    But 
Captain  Stanhope  thought  proper  to  write  to  the  Governor,  which 
brought  on  the  correspondence  published  in  the  papers  of  Europe. 
Lest  you  should  not  have  seen  it,  I  enclose  it,  as  cut  from  a  Lon- 
don paper;    though  not  perfectly  exact,  it  is  substantially  so. 
You  will  doubtless  judge,  that  Governor  Bowdoin  referred  him 
properly  to  the  laws  for  redress,  as  he  was  obliged  to  do,  and  as 
would  have  been  done  in  England,  in  a  like  case.     Had  he  ap- 
plied to  the  courts,  the  question  would  have  been,  whether  they 


CORRESPONDENCE.  .  477 

would  have  punished  Dunbar  ?  This  must  be  answered  now  by 
conjecture  only  ;  and,  to  form  that  conjecture,  every  man  must  ask 
himself  whether  he  would  not  have  done  as  Dunbar  did  ?  And 
whether  the  people  should  not  have  permitted  him  to  return  to  Stan- 
hope the  twenty-four  lashes  ?  This  affair  has  been  stated  in  the 
London  papers,  without  mixing  with  it  one  circumstance  of  truth. 

In  your  letter  of  the  27th  of  June,  you  were  so  good  as  to  tell 
me,  that  you  should  shortly  send  off  some  of  the  books  I  had 
taken  the  liberty  to  ask  you  to  get  for  me,  and  that  your  corre- 
spondent at  Bay onne,. would  give  me  notice  of  their  arrival  there. 
Not  having  heard  from  him,  I  mention  it  to  you,  lest  they  should 
be  stopped  anywhere. 

I  am,  with  great  respect,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble 
servant. 


TO    RICHARD    O'BRYAN. 

FAKIS,  November  4,  1785. 

SIR, — I  wrote  you  a  short  letter  on  the  29th  of  September,  ac- 
knowledging the  receipt  of  yours  of  August  the  24th,  from  Al- 
giers, and  promising  that  you  should  hear  further  from  me  soon. 
Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister  at  London,  and  myself,  have 
agreed  to  authorize  the  bearer  hereof,  Mr.  Lambe,  to  treat  for 
your  redemption,  and  that  of  your  companions  taken  in  American 
vessels,  and,  if  it  can  be  obtained  for  sums  within  our  power,  we 
shall  have  the  money  paid.  But  in  this,  we  act  without  instruc- 
tion from  Congress,  and  are  therefore  obliged  to  take  the  precau- 
tion of  requiring,  that  you  bind  your  owners  for  yourself  and 
crew,  and  the  other  captain,  in  like  manner,  his  owners  for  him- 
self and  crew,  and  that  each  person,  separately,  make  himself 
answerable  for  his  own  redemption,  in  case  Congress  requires  it. 
I  suppose  Congress  will  not  require  it ;  but  we  have  no  authority 
to  decide  that,  but  must  leave  it  to  their  own  decision ;  which 
renders  necessary  the  precautions  I  have  mentioned,  in  order  to 
justify  ourselves  for  undertaking  to  redeem  you,  without  orders. 
Mr.  Lambe  is  instructed  to  make  no  bargain  without  your  ap- 


478  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

probation,  and  that  of  the  other  prisoners,  each  for  himself.  We 
also  direct  him  to  relieve  your  present  necessities.  I  sincerely 
wish  you  a  speedy  deliverance  from  your  distresses,  and  a  happy 
return  to  your  family. 

T  am,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    W.    W.    SEWARD. 

PARIS,  November  12,  1785. 

SIR, — I  received  the  honor  of  your  letter  of  the  25th  ult, 
written  by  desire  of  the  associated  company  of  Irish  merchants, 
in  London,  and  return  you  thanks  for  the  kind  congratulations 
you  express  therein.  The  freedom  of  commerce  between  Ireland 
and  America  is  undoubtedly  very  interesting  to  both  countries. 
If  fair  play  be  given  to  the  natural  advantages  of  Ireland,  she 
must  come  in  for  a  distinguished  share  of  that  commerce.  She 
is  entitled  to  it,  from  the  excellence  of  some  of  her  manufactures, 
the  cheapness  of  most  of  them,  their  correspondence  with  the 
American  taste,  a  sameness  of  language,  laws  and  manners,  a  re- 
ciprocal affection  between  the  people,  and  the  singular  circum- 
stance of  her  being  the  nearest  European  land  to  the  United 
States.  I  am  not  at  present  so  well  acquainted  with  the  tram- 
mels of  Irish  commerce,  as  to  know  what  they  are,  particularly, 
which  obstruct  the  intercourse  between  Ireland  and  America  • 
nor,  therefore,  what  can  be  the  object  of  a  fleet  stationed  in  the 
western  ocean,  to  intercept  that  intercourse.  Experience,  how- 
ever, has  taught  us  to  infer  that  the  fact  is  probable,  because  it  is 
impolitic.  On  the  supposition  that  this  interruption  will  take 
place,  you  suggest  Ostend  as  a  convenient  entrepot  for  the  com- 
merce between  America  and  Ireland.  Here,  too,  I  find  myself, 
on  account  of  the  same  ignorance  of  your  commercial  regula- 
tions, at  a  loss  to  say  why  this  is  preferable  to  L'Orient,  which, 
you  know,  is  a  free  port  and  in  great  latitude,  which  is  nearer  to 
both  parties,  and  accessible  by  a  less  dangerous  navigation.  I 
make  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  reasons  of  the  preference  are 
good.  You  find  by  this  essay,  that  I  am  not  likely  to  be  a  very 


CORRESPONDENCE.  479 

instructive  correspondent ;  you  shall  find  me,  however,  zealous 
in  whatever  may  concern  the  interests  of  the  two  countries.  The 
system,  into  which  the  United  States  wished  to  go,  was  that  of 
freeing  commerce  from  every  shackle.  A  contrary  conduct  in 
Great  Britain  will  occasion  them  to  adopt  the  contrary  system, 
at  least  as  to  that  island.  I  am  sure  they  would  be  glad,  if  it 
should  be  found  practicable,  to  make  that  discrimination  between 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  which  their  commercial  principles,  and 
their  affection  for  the  latter,  would  dictate. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect  for  yourself 
and  the  company  for  whom  you  write,  Sir,  your  most  obedient 
and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    THE    COUNT    DE    VERGENNES. 

PARIS,  November  14,  1785. 

SIR, — I  take  the  liberty  of  troubling  your  Excellency  on  be- 
half of  six  citizens  of  the  United  States,  who  have  been,  for 
some  time,  confined  in  the  prison  of  St.  Pol  de  Leon,  arid  of  re- 
ferring for  particulars,  to  the  enclosed  state  of  their  case.  Some 
of  the  material  facts,  therein  mentioned,  are  founded  on  the  bill 
of  sale  for  the  vessel,  her  clearance  from  Baltimore,  and  her  log 
book.  The  originals  of  the  two  last,  and  a  copy  of  the  first,  are 
in  my  hands.  I  have,  also,  letters  from  a  merchant  in  Liverpool 
to  Asquith,  which  render  it  really  probable  that  his  vessel  was 
bound  to  Liverpool.  The  other  circumstances  depend  on  their 
affirmation,  but  I  must  say,  that  in  these  facts,  they  have  been 
uniform  and  steady.  I  have  thus  long  avoided  troubling  your 
Excellency  with  this  case,  in  hopes  it  would  receive  its  decision, 
in  the  ordinary  course  of  law,  and  I  relied,  that  that  would  in- 
demnify the  sufferers,  if  they  had  been  used  unjustly  ;  but  though 
they  have  been  in  close  confinement,  now  near  three  months,  it 
has  yet  no  appearance  of  approaching  to  decision.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  cold  of  the  winter  is  coming  on,  and,  to  men  in  their 
situation,  may  produce  events  which  would  render  all  indemnifi- 


480  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

cation  too  late.  I  must,  therefore,  pray  the  assistance  of  your 
Excellency,  for  the  liberation  of  their  persons,  if  the  established 
order  of  things  may  possibly  admit  of  it.  As  to  their  property, 
and  their  personal  sufferings  hitherto,  I  have  full  confidence  that 
the  laws  have  provided  some  tribunal,  where  justice  will  be  done 
them.  I  enclose  the  opinion  of  an  advocate,  forwarded  to  me  by 
a  gentleman  whom  I  had  desired  to  obtain,  from  some  judicious 
person  of  that  faculty,  a  state  of  their  case.  This  may  perhaps 
give  a  better  idea  than  I  can,  of  the  situation  of  their  cause. 
His  inquiries  have  led  him  to  believe  they  are  innocent  men,  but 
that  they  must  lose  their  vessel  under  the  edict,  which  forbids 
those  under  thirty  tons  to  approach  the  coast.  Admitting  their 
innocence,  as  he  does,  I  should  suppose  them  not  the  objects,  on 
whom  such  an  edict  was  meant  to  operate.  The  essential  papers, 
which  he  says  they  re-demanded  from  him,  and  did  not  return, 
were  sent  to  me,  at  my  desire. 

I  am,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 

The  case  of  Lister  Asquith,  owner  of  the  schooner  William  and 
Catharine,  William  M'Ncil,  captain,  William  Thomson,  Wil- 
liam Neily,  Robert  Anderson,  mariners,  and  William  Fowler, 
passenger. 

Lister  Asquith,  citizen  of  the  State  of  Maryland,  having  a 
law-suit  depending  in  England,  which  required  his  presence,  as 
involving  in  its  issue  nearly  his  whole  fortune,  determined  to  go 
thither  in  a  small  schooner  of  his  own,  that  he  might,  at  the 
same  time,  take  with  him  an  adventure  of  tobacco  and  flour  to 
Liverpool,  where  he  had  commercial  connections.  This  schooner 
he  purchased  as  of  fifty-nine  and  a  quarter  tons,  as  appears  by 
his  bill  of  sale,  but  she  had  been  registered  by  her  owner  at 
twenty-one  tons,  in  order  to  evade  the  double  duties  in  England, 
to  which  American  vessels  are  now  subject.  He  cleared  out 
from  Baltimore  for  Liverpool,  the  llth  of  June,  1785,  with  eight 
hogsheads  of  tobacco  and  sixty  barrels  of  flour,  but  ran  aground 


CORRESPONDENCE.  481 

at  Smith's  point,  sprung  a  leak,  and  was  obliged  to  return  to  Bal- 
timore to  refit.  Having  stopped  his  leak,  he  took  his  cargo  on 
board  again,  and  his  health  being  infirm,  he  engaged  Captain 
William  M'Neil*  to  go  with  him,  and,  on  the  20th  of  June,  sailed 
for  Norfolk  in  Virginia,  and,  on  the  22d,  came  to  in  Hampton 
road,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  on  which  Norfolk  is.  Learning 
here  that  tobacco  would  be  better  than  flour  for  the  English 
market,  he  landed  fifty  barrels  of  his  flour  and  one  hogshead  of 
tobacco,  which  he  found  to  be  bad,  meaning  to  take,  instead 
thereof,  nine  hogsheads  of  tobacco  more.  But  the  same  night  it 
began  to  blow  very  hard,  with  much  rain.  The  23d,  the  storm 
became  more  heavy ;  they  let  go  both  their  anchors,  but  were 
driven,  notwithstanding,  from  their  anchorage,  forced  to  put  to 
sea  and  to  go  before  the  wind.  The  occurrences  of  their  voyage 
will  be  best  detailed  by  short  extracts  from  the  log-book. 

June  24.  The  weather  becomes  worse.  One  of  the  fore 
shrouds  and  the  foremast  carried  away. 

June  25.  Shifted  their  ballast  which  threw  them  on  their 
beam  ends,  and  shipped  a  very  heavy  sea.  Held  a  consultation, 
the  result  of  which  was,  that  seeing  they  were  now  driven  so  far 
to  sea,  and  the  weather  continuing  still  very  bad,  it  was  better  to 
steer  for  Liverpool,  their  port  of  destination,  though  they  had  not 
their  cargo  on  board,  and  no  other  clearance  but  that  which  they 
took  from  Baltimore. 

June  29.  The  first  observation  they  had  been  able  to  take 
N.  lat.  38J  13'. 

June  30.  Winds  begin  to  be  light,  but  the  sea  still  very 
heavy. 

July  5.  Light  winds  and  a  smooth  sea  for  the  first  time,  in 
lat.  43  12'. 

July  9.     Spoke  a  French  brig,  Comte  d'Artois,  Captain  Mieaux, 

*  This  was  the  officer  who,  on  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Mifflin,  after  the  British  had 
passed  the  chevaux  de  frise  on  the  Delaware,  was  left  with  fifteen  men  to  destroy 
the  works,  which  he  did,  and  brought  off  his  men  successfully.  He  had,  before  that 
been  commander  of  the  Rattlesnake  sloop  of  war,  and  had  much  annoyed  the  Britisl 
trade.  Being  bred  a  seaman,  he  has  returned  to  that  vocation. 

VOL.  I.  31 


JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

from  St.  Maloes,  in  distress  for  provisions.  Relieved  her  with 
three  barrels  of  flour. 

Aug.  6.  Thick  weather  and  a  strong  wind.  Made  the  Lands' 
End  of  England. 

Aug.  7.  Unable  to  fetch  the  land,  therefore  bore  off  for  Scilly, 
and  came  to  with  both  anchors.  Drove,  notwithstanding,  and 
obliged  to  get  up  the  anchors,  and  put  to  sea,  running  south- 
wardly. 

Aug.  8.  Made  the  land  of  France,  but  did  not  know  what 
part. 

Here  the  logbook  ends.  At  this  time  they  had  on  board  but 
ten  gallons  of  water,  four  or  five  barrels  of  bread,  two  or  three 
pounds  of  candles,  no  firewood.  Their  sails  unfit  to  be  trusted 
to  any  longer,  and  all  their  materials  for  mending  them  exhausted 
by  the  constant  repairs  which  the  violence  of  the  weather  had 
called  for.  They  therefore  took  a  pilot  aboard,  who  carried  them 
into  Pont  Duval ;  but  being  informed  by  the  captain  of  a  vessel 
there  that  the  schooner  was  too  sharp  built  (as  the  American  ves- 
sels mostly  are)  to  lie  in  that  port,  they  put  out  immediately,  and 
the  next  morning  the  pilot  brought  them  to  anchor  in  the  road 
of  the  Isle  de  Bas.  Asquith  went  immediately  to  Roscaff,  pro- 
tested at  the  admiralty  the  true  state  of  his  case,  and  reported  his 
vessel  and  cargo  at  the  custom-house.  In  making  the  report  of 
his  vessel,  he  stated  her  as  of  twenty-one  tons,  according  to  his 
register.  The  officer  informed  him  that  if  she  was  no  larger,  she 
would  be  confiscated  by  an  edict,  which  forbids  all  vessels  under 
thirty  tons  to  approach  the  coast.  He  told  the  officer  what  was 
the  real  truth  as  to  his  register  and  his  bill  of  sale,  and  was  per- 
mitted to  report  her  according  to  the  latter.  He  paid  the  usual 
fees  of  ten  livres  and  seven  sols,  and  obtained  a  clearance. 
Notwithstanding  this,  he  was  soon  visited  by  other  persons  whom 
he  supposes  to  have  been  commis  of  the  Fermes,  who  seized  his 
vessel,  carried  her  to  the  pier,  and  confined  the  crew  to  the  ves- 
sel and  half  the  pier,  putting  sentinels  over  them.  They  brought 
a  guager,  who  measured  only  her  hold  and  part  of  her  steerage, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  483 

allowing  nothing  for  the  cockpit,  cabin,  forecastle,  and  above 
one-half  of  the  steerage,  which  is  almost  half  the  vessel,  and 
thus  made  her  contents  (if  that  had  been  of  any  importance) 
much  below  the  truth.  The  tobacco  was  weighed,  and  found 
to  be  six  thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-seven  pounds,*  which 
was  sent  on  the  18th  to  Landivisian,  and  on  the  19th  they  were 
committed  to  close  prison  at  St.  Pol  de  Leon,  where  they  have 
been  confined  ever  since.  They  had,  when  they  first  landed, 
some  money,  of  which  they  were  soon  disembarrassed  by  differ- 
ent persons,  who,  in  various  forms,  undertook  to  serve  them. 
Unable  to  speak  or  understand  a  word  of  the  language  of  the 
country,  friendless,  and  left  without  money,  they  have  languished 
three  months  in  a  loathsome  jail,  without  any  other  sustenance, 
a  great  part  of  the  time,  than  what  could  be  procured  for  three 
sous  a  day,  which  have  been  furnished  them  to  prevent  their 
perishing. 

They  have  been  made  to  understand  that  a  criminal  process  is 
going  on  against  them  under  two  heads.  1.  As  having  sold  to- 
bacco in  contraband ;  and  2,  as  having  entered  a  port  of  France 
in  a  vessel  of  less  than  thirty  tons  burthen.  In  support  of  the 
first  charge,  they  understand  that  the  circumstance  is  relied  on,  of 
their  having  been  seen  off  the  coast  by  the  employe's  des  Fermes 
one  or  two  days.  They  acknowledge  they  may  have  been  so 
seen  while  beating  off  Pont  Duval  till  they  could  get  a  pilot 
while  entering  that  port,  and  again  going  round  from  thence  to 
the  road  of  the  Isle  de  Bas.  The  reasons  for  this  have  been  ex- 
plained. They  further  add,  that  all  the  time  they  were  at  Pont 
Duval  they  had  a  King's  officer  on  board,  from  whom,  as  well  as 
from  their  pilot  and  the  captain,  by  whose  advice  they  left  that 
port  for  the  Isle  de  Bas,  information  can  be  obtained  by  their  ac- 

*  A  hogshead  of  tobacco  weighs  generally  about  one  thousand  pounds  English, 
equal  to  nine  hundred  and  seventeen  pounds  French.  The  seven  hogsheads  he  sailed 
•with  would  therefore  weigh,  according  to  this  estimate,  six  thousand  four  hundred 
and  twenty-three  pounds.  They  actually  weighed  more  on  the  first  essay.  When 
afterwards  weighed  at  Landivisian,  they  had  lost  eighty-four  pounds  on  being  car- 
ried into  a  drier  air.  Perhaps,  too,  a  difference  of  weights  may  have  entered  into 
this  apparent  loss. 


484  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

cusers  (who  are  not  imprisoned),  of  the  true  motives  for  that 
measure.  It  is  said  to  be  urged  also,  that  there  was  found  in 
their  vessel  some  loose  tobacco  in  a  blanket,  which  excites  a  sus- 
picion that  they  had  been  selling  tobacco.  When  they  were 
stowing  their  loading,  they  broke  a  hogshead,  as  is  always  neces- 
sary, and  is  always  done,  to  fill  up  the  stowage,  and  to  consoli- 
date and  keep  the  whole  mass  firm,  and  in  place.  The  loose  to- 
bacco which  had  come  out  of  the  broken  hogshead,  they  re- 
packed in  bags ;  but  in  the  course  of  the  distress  of  their  disas- 
trous voyage,  they  had  employed  these  bags,  as  they  had  done 
everything  else  of  the  same  nature,  in  mending  their  sails.  The 
condition  of  their  sails,  when  they  came  into  port,  will  prove 
this,  and  they  were  seen  by  witnesses  enough,  to  whom  their  ac- 
cusers, being  at  their  liberty,  can  have  access.  Besides,  the  sale 
of  a  part  of  their  tobacco  is  a  fact  which,  had  it  taken  place, 
might  have  been  proved  ;  but  they  deny  that  it  has  been  proved, 
or  ever  can  be  proved  by  true  men,  because  it  never  existed. 
And  they  hope  the  justice  of  this  country  does  not  permit  stran- 
gers, seeking  in  her  ports  an  asylum  from  death,  to  be  thrown 
into  jail  and  continued  there  indefinitely,  on  the  possibility  of  a 
fact,  without  any  proof.  More  especially  when,  as  in  the  pres- 
ent case,  a  demonstration  to  the  contrary  is  furnished  by  their 
clearance,  which  shows  they  never  had  more  than  eight  hogs- 
heads of  tobacco  on  board,  of  which  one  had  been  put  ashore  at 
Hampton  in  Virginia,  as  has  been  before  related,  and  the  seven 
others  remained  when  they  first  entered  port.  If  they  had  been 
smugglers  of  tobacco,  the  opposite  coast  offered  a  much  fairer 
field,  because  the  gain  there  is  as  great ;  because  they  understand 
the  language  and  laws  of  the  country,  they  know  its  harbors  and 
coasts,  and  have  connections  in  them.  These  circumstances  are 
so  important  to  smugglers,  that  it  is  believed  no  instance  has  ever 
occurred  of  the  contraband  of  tobacco,  attempted  on  this  side  the 
channel  by  a  crew  wholly  American.  Be  this  as  it  may,  they 
are  not  of  that  description  of  men. 

As  to  the  second  charge,  that  they  have  entered  a  port  of 
France  in  a  vessel  of  less  than  thirty  tons  burthen,  they,  in  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  485 

first  place,  observe  that  they  saw  the  guager  measure  the  vessel, 
and  affirm  that  his  method  of  measuring  could  render  little  more 
than  half  her  true  contents ;  but  they  say,  further,  that  were  she 
below  the  size  of  thirty  tons,  and,  when  entering  the  port,  had 
they  known  of  the  alternative  of  either  forfeiting  their  vessel  and 
cargo,  or  of  perishing  at  sea,  they  must  still  have  entered  the 
port :  the  loss  of  their  vessel  and  cargo  being  the  lesser  evil. 
But  the  character  of  the  lawgiver  assures  them,  that  the  intention 
of  his  laws  are  perverted  when  misapplied  to  persons  who,  under 
their  circumstances,  take  refuge  in  his  ports.  They  have  no  oc- 
casion to  recur  from  his  clemency  to  his  justice,  by  claiming  the 
benefit  of  that  article  in  the  treaty  which  binds  the  two  nations 
together,  and  which  assures  to  the  fugitives  of  either  from  the 
dangers  of  the  sea,  a  hospitable  reception  and  necessary  aids  in 
the  ports  of  the  other,  and  that  without  measuring  the  size  of 
their  vessel. 

Upon  the  whole,  they  protest  themselves  to  have  been  as  inno- 
cent as  they  have  been  unfortunate.  Instead  of  relief  in  a  friendly 
port,  they  have  seen  their  misfortunes  aggravated  by  the  conduct 
of  officers,  who,  in  their  greediness  for  gain,  can  see  in  no  cir- 
cumstance anything  but  proofs  of  guilt.  They  have  already  long 
suffered,  and  are  still  suffering,  whatever  scanty  sustenance  an 
inclement  season  and  close  confinement  can  offer  most  distress- 
ing to  men  who  have  been  used  to  neither,  and  who  have  wives 
and  children  at  home  participating  of  their  distresses ;  they  are 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  laws  and  language  of  the  country  where 
they  are  suffering ;  they  are  deprived  of  that  property  which 
would  have  enabled  them  to  procure  counsel  to  place  their  in- 
juries in  a  true  light ;  they  are  distant  from  the  stations  of  those 
who  are  appointed  by  their  country  to  patronize  their  rights; 
they  are  not  at  liberty  to  go  to  them,  nor  able  to  have  communi- 
cation through  any  other  than  the  uncertain  medium  of  the  posts  • 
and  they  see  themselves  already  ruined  by  the  losses  and  delays 
they  have  been  made  to  incur,  and  by  the  failure  of  the  original 
object  of  their  voyage.  They  throw  themselves,  therefore,  on 
the  patronage  of  the  government,  and  pray  that  its  energies  may 


486  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

be  interposed  in  aid  of  their  poverty  and  ignorance,  to  restore 
them  to  their  liberty,  and  to  extend  to  them  that  retribution 
which  the  laws  of  every  country  mean  to  extend  to  those  who 
suffer  unjustly. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  November  19,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  to  you,  on  the  llth  of  October,  by  Mr. 
Preston,  and  again  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month,  by  post. 
Since  that,  yours  of  September  the  25th,  by  Mr.  Boylston,  of 
October  the  24th,  November  the  1st,  and  November  the  4th,  have 
come  safe  to  hand.  I  will  take  up  their  several  subjects  in  order. 
Boylson's  object  was,  first,  to  dispose  of  a  cargo  of  spermaceti 
oil,  which  he  brought  to  Havre.  A  secondary  one,  was  to  ob- 
tain a  contract  for  future  supplies.  I  carried  him  to  the  Marquis 
de  La  Fayette.  As  to  his  first  object,  we  are  in  hopes  of  getting 
the  duties  taken  off,  which  will  enable  him  to  sell  his  cargo. 
This  has  led  to  discussions  with  the  ministers,  which  give  us  a 
hope  that  we  may  get  the  duties  taken  off  in  perpetuum.  This 
done,  a  most  abundant  market  for  our  oil  will  be  opened  by  this 
country,  and  one  which  will  be  absolutely  dependent  on  us  ;  for 
they  have  little  expectation  themselves  of  establishing  a  success- 
ful whale  fishery.  It  is  possible  they  may  only  take  the  duties 
off  of  those  oils,  which  shall  be  the  produce  of  associated  com- 
panies of  French  and  American  merchants.  But,  as  yet,  nothing 
certain  can  be  said. 

I  thank  you  for  the  trouble  you  have  taken  to  obtain  insur- 
ance on  Houdon's  life.  I  place  the  thirty-two  pounds  and  eleven 
shillings  to  your  credit,  and  not  being  able,  as  yet,  to  determine 
precisely  how  our  account  stands,  I  send  a  sum  by  Colonel  Smith, 
which  may  draw  the  scales  towards  a  balance. 

The  determination  of  the  British  cabinet  to  make  no  equal 
treaty  with  us,  confirms  me  in  the  opinion  expressed  in  youi 
letter  of  October  the  24th,  that  the  United  States  must  pass  a 


CORRESPONDENCE.  487 

navigation  act  against  Great  Britain,  and  load  her  manufactures 
with  duties,  so  as  to  give  a  preference  to  those  of  other  countries ; 
and  I  hope  our  Assemblies  Avill  wait  no  longer,  but  transfer  such 
a  power  to  Congress,  at  the  sessions  of  this  fall.  I  suppose, 
however,  it  will  only  be  against  Great  Britain,  and  I  think  it  will 
be  right  not  to  involve  other  nations  in  the  consequences  of  her 
injustice.  I  take  for  granted,  that  the  commercial  system,  wished 
for  by  Congress,  was  such  a  one  as  should  leave  commerce  on  the 
freest  footing  possible.  This  was  the  plan  on  which  we  prepared 
our  general  draught  for  treating  with  all  nations.  Of  those  with 
whom  we  were  to  treat,  I  ever  considered  England,  France, 
Spain,  and  Portugal  as  capitally  important  ;  the  first  two,  on  ac- 
count of  their  American  possessions,  the  last,  for  their  European 
as  well  as  American.  Spain  is  treating  in  America,  and  probably 
will  give  an  advantageous  treaty.  Portugal  shows  dispositions 
to  do  the  same.  France  does  not  treat.  It  is  likely  enough 
she  will  choose  to  keep  the  staff  in  her  own  hands.  But,  in  the 
meantime,  she  gives  us  an  access  to  her  West  Indies,  which, 
though  not  all  we  wish,  is  yet  extremely  valuable  to  us ;  this 
access,  indeed,  is  much  affected  by  the  late  Arrets  of  the  18th 
and  25th  of  September,  which  I  enclose  to  you.  I  consider 
these  as  a  reprisal  for  the  navigation  acts  of  Massachusetts  and 
New  Hampshire.  The  minister  has  complained  to  me,  officially, 
of  these  acts,  as  a  departure  from  the  reciprocity  stipulated  for 
by  the  treaty.  I  have  assured  him  that  his  complaints  shall  be 
communicated  to  Congress,  and,  in  the  meantime,  observed  that 
the  example  of  discriminating  between  foreigners  and  natives 
had  been  set  by  the  Arret  of  August,  1784,  and  still  more  re- 
markably by  those  of  September  the  18th  and  25th,  which,  in 
effect,  are  a  prohibition  of  our  fish  in  their  islands.  However, 
it  is  better  for  us  that  both  sides  should  revise  what  they  have 
done.  I  am  in  hopes  this  country  did  not  mean  these  as  per- 
manent regulations.  Mr.  Bingham,  lately  from  Holland,  tells 
me  that  the  Dutch  are  much  dissatisfied  with  these  acts.  In 
fact,  I  expect  the  European  nations  in  general,  will  rise  up 
against  an  attempt  of  this  kind,  and  wage  a  general  commercial 


488  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

war  against  us.  They  can  do  well  without  all  our  commodities, 
except  tobacco,  and  we  cannot  find  elsewhere  markets  for  them. 
The  selfishness  of  England  alone  will  not  justify  our  hazarding 
a  contest  of  this  kind  against  all  Europe.  Spain,  Portugal,  and 
France,  have  not  yet  shut  their  doors  against  us ;  it  will  be  time 
enough  when  they  do  to  take  up  the  commercial  hatchet.  I 
hope,  therefore,  those  States  will  repeal  their  navigation  clauses, 
except  as  against  Great  Britain  and  other  nations  not  treating 
with  us. 

I  have  made  the  inquiries  you  desire  as  to  American  ship-tim- 
ber for  this  country.  You  know  they  sent  some  person  (whose 
name  was  not  told  us)  to  America,  to  examine  the  quality  of  our 
masts,  spars,  &c.  I  think  this  was  young  Chaumont's  business. 
They  have,  besides  this,  instructed  the  officer  who  superintends 
their  supplies  of  masts,  spars,  &c.,  to  procure  good  quantities 
from  our  northern  States  ;  but  I  think  they  have  made  no  con- 
tract ;  on  the  contrary,  that  they  await  the  trials  projected,  but 
with  a  determination  to  look  to  us  for  considerable  supplies,  if 
they  find  our  timber  answer.  They  have  on  the  carpet  a  con- 
tract for  live  oak  from  the  southern  States. 

You  ask  why  the  Virginian  merchants  do  not  learn  to  sort 
their  own  tobaccos  ?  They  can  sort  them  as  well  as  any  other 
merchants  whatever.  Nothing  is  better  known  than  the  quality 
of  every  hogshead  of  tobacco,  from  the  place  of  its  growth. 
They  know,  too,  the  particular  qualities  required  in  every  mar- 
ket. They  do  not  send  their  tobaccos,  therefore,  to  London  to 
be  sorted,  but  to  pay  their  debts ;  and  though  they  could  send 
them  to  other  markets,  and  remit  the  money  to  London,  yet  they 
find  it  necessary  to  give  their  English  merchant  the  benefit  of 
the  consignment  of  their  tobacco  (which  is  enormously  gainful), 
in  order  to  induce  him  to  continue  his  indulgence  for  the  balance 
due. 

Is  it  impossible  to  persuade  our  countrymen  to  make  peace 
with  the  Nova  Scotians?  I  am  persuaded  nothing  is  warning 
but  advances  on  our  part ;  and  that  it  is  in  our  power  to  draw 
off  the  greatest  proportion  of  that  settlement,  and  thus  to  free 


CORRESPONDENCE.  489 

ourselves  from  rivals  who  may  become  of  consequence.  We 
are  at  present  co-operating  with  Great  Britain,  whose  policy  it  is 
to  give  aliment  to  that  bitter  enmity  between  her  States  and  ours, 
which  may  secure  her  against  their  ever  joining  us.  But  would 
not  the  existence  of  a  cordial  friendship  between  us  and  them, 
be  the  best  bridle  we  could  possibly  put  into  the  mouth  of  Eng- 
land ? 

With  respect  to  the  Danish  business,  you  will  observe  that 
the  instructions  of  Congress,  article  3,  of  October  the  29th,  1783, 
put  it  entirely  into  the  hands  of  the  Ministers  Plenipotentiary 
of  the  United  States  of  America  at  the  court  of  Versailles,  em- 
powered to  negotiate  a  peace,  or  to  any  one  or  more  of  them.  At 
that  time,  I  did  not  come  under  this  description.  I  had  received 
the  permission  of  Congress  to  decline  coming  in  the  spring  pre- 
ceding that  date.  On  the  first  day  of  November,  1783,  that  is 
to  say,  two  days  after  the  date  of  the  instructions  to  the  commis- 
sioners, Congress  recommended  John  Paul  Jones  to  the  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  at  Versailles  as  agent,  to 
solicit,  under  his  direction,  the  payment  of  all  prizes  taken  in  Eu- 
rope, under  his  command.  But  the  object  under  their  view,  at 
that  time,  was  assuredly  the  money  due  from  the  court  of  Ver- 
sailles, for  the  prizes  taken  in  the  expedition  by  the  Bon  homme 
Richard,  the  Alliance,  &c.  In  this  business,  I.  have  aided  him 
effectually,  having  obtained  a  definitive  order  for  paying  the  mo- 
ney to  him,  and  a  considerable  proportion  being  actually  paid 
him.  But  they  could  not  mean  by  their  resolution  of  November 
the  1st,  to  take  from  the  commissioners  powers  which  they  had 
given  them  two  days  before.  If  there  could  remain  a  doubt 
that  this  whole  power  has  resulted  to  you,  it  would  be  cleared  up 
by  the  instructions  of  May  the  7th,  1784,  article  9,  Avhich  declare, 
"  that  these  instructions  be  considered  as  supplementary  to  those 
of  October  the  29th,  1783,  and  not  as  revoking,  except  where 
they  contradict  them;"  which  shows  that  ihey  considered  the 
instructions  of  October  the  29th,  1783,  as  still  in  full  force.  I 
do  not  give  you  the  trouble  of  this  discussion,  to  save  myself 
the  trouble  of  the  negotiation.  I  should  have  no  objections  to 


490  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

this  part ;  but  it  is  to  avoid  the  impropriety  of  meddling  in  a 
matter  wherein  I  am  unauthorized  to  act,  and  where  anything  I 
should  pretend  to  conclude  with  the  court  of  Denmark  might 
have  the  appearance  of  a  deception  on  them.  Should  it  be  in 
my  powei  to  render  any  service  in  it,  I  shall  do  it  with  cheerful- 
ness ;  but  I  repeat,  that  I  think  you  are  the  only  person  author- 
ized. 

I  received,  a  few  days  ago,  the  Nuova  minuta  of  Tuscany, 
which  Colonel  Humphreys  will  deliver  you.  I  have  been  so 
engaged,  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  go  over  it  with  any  atten- 
tion. I  observe,  in  general,  that  the  order  of  the  articles  is  en- 
tirely deranged,  and  their  diction  almost  totally  changed.  When 
you  shall  have  examined  it,  if  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  send 
me  your  observations  by  post,  in  cypher,  I  will  communicate 
with  you  in  the  same  way,  and  try  to  mature  this  matter. 

The  deaths  of  the  Dukes  of  Orleans  and  Praslin  will  proba- 
bly reach  you  through  the  channel  of  the  public  papers,  before 
this  letter  does.  Your  friends  the  Abbes  are  well,  and  always 
speak  of  you  with  affection.  Colonel  Humphreys  comes  to  pass 
some  time  in  London.  My  curiosity  would  render  a  short  trip 
thither  agreeable  to  me  also,  but  I  see  no  probability  of  taking 
it.  I  will  trouble  you  with  my  respects  to  Dr.  Price.  Those  to 
Mrs.  Adams,  I  witness  in  a  letter  to  herself. 

I  am,  with  very  great  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient, 
and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    THE    COUNT    DE    VERGENNES. 

PARIS,  November  20,  1785. 

SIR, — I  found  here,  on  my  return  from  Fontainebleau,  the  let- 
ter of  October  the  30th,  which  your  Excellency  did  me  the  honor 
there,  of  informing  me  had  been  addressed  to  me  at  this  place  ; 
and  I  shall  avail  myself  of  the  first  occasion  of  transmitting  it 
to  Congress,  who  will  receive,  with  great  pleasure,  these  new  as- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  491 

surances  of  the  friendly  sentiments  which  his  Majesty  is  pleased 
to  continue  towards  the  United  States. 

I  am  equally  persuaded  they  will  pay  the  most  serious  atten- 
tion to  that  part  of  your  Excellency's  letter,  which  mentions  the 
information  you  have  received  of  certain  acts  or  regulations  of 
navigation  and  commerce,  passed  in  some  of  the  United  States, 
which  are  injurious  to  the  commerce  of  Prance.  In  the  mean- 
time, I  wish  to  remove  the  unfavorable  impressions  which  those 
acts  seem  to  have  made,  as  if  they  were  a  departure  from  the 
reciprocity  of  conduct,  stipulated  for  by  the  treaty  of  February 
the  6th,  1776.  The  effect  of  that  treaty  is,  to  place  each  party 
with  the  other  always  on  the  footing  of  the  most  favored  nation. 
But  those,  who  framed  the  acts,  probably  did  not  consider  the 
treaty  as  restraining  either  from  discriminating  between  foreigners 
and  natives.  Yet  this  is  the  sole  effect  of  these  acts.  The 
same  opinion  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  treaty  seems  to  have 
been  entertained  by  this  government,  both  before  and  since  the 
date  of  these  acts.  For  the  Arret  of  the  King's  Council,  of  Au- 
gust the  30th,  1784,  furnished  an  example  of  such  a  discrimina- 
tion between  foreigners  and  natives,  importing  salted  fish  into  his 
Majesty's  dominions  in  the  West  Indies ;  by  laying  a  duty  on 
that  imported  by  foreigners,  and  giving  out  the  same,  in  bounty, 
to  native  importers.  This  opinion  shows  itself  more  remarkably 
in  the  late  Arrets  of  the  18th  and  25th  of  September,  which, 
increasing  to  excess  the  duty  on  foreign  importations  of  fish  into 
the  West  Indies,  giving  the  double,  in  bounty,  on  those  of  na- 
tives, and  thereby  rendering  it  impossible  for  the  former  to  sell 
in  competition  with  the  latter,  have,  in  effect,  prohibited  the  im- 
portation of  that  article  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

Both  nations,  perhaps,  may  come  into  the  opinion,  that  their 
friendship  and  their  interests  may  be  better  cemented,  by  ap- 
proaching the  condition  of  their  citizens,  reciprocally,  to  that 
of  natives,  as  a  better  ground  of  intercourse  than  that  of 
the  most  favored  nation.  I  shall  rest  with  hopes  of  being 
authorized,  in  due  time,  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  nothing 
will  be  wanting,  on  our  part,  to  evince  a  disposition  to  concur  in 


492  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

revising  whatever  regulations  may,  on  either  side,  bear  hard  on 
the  commerce  of  the  other  nation.  In  the  meantime,  I  have  the 
honor  to  assure  you  of  the  profound  respect  and  esteem  with 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient, 
and  most  humble  servant. 


TO   JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  November  27,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  of  the  5th  came  to  hand  yesterday, 
and  Colonel  Smith,  and  Colonel  Humphreys  (by  whom  you  will 
receive  one  of  the  19th,  from  me)  being  to  set  out  to-morrow,  I 
hasten  to  answer  it.  I  sincerely  rejoice  that  Portugal  is  stepping 
forward  in  the  business  of  treaty,  and  that  there  is  a  probability 
that  we  may  at  length  do  something  under  our  commissions, 
which  may  produce  a  solid  benefit  to  our  constituents.  I  as 
much  rejoice,  that  it  is  not  to  be  negotiated  through  the  medium 
of  the  torpid,  uninformed  machine,  at  first  made  use  of.  I  con- 
jecture, from  your  relation  of  the  conference  with  the  Chevalier 
de  Pinto,  that  he  is  well  informed  and  sensible.  So  much  the 
better.  It  is  one  of  those  cases,  where  the  better  the  interest  of 
the  two  parties  are  understood,  the  broader  will  be  the  basis  on 
which  they  will  connect  them. 

To  the  very  judicious  observations  on  the  subjects  of  the  con- 
ference, which  were  made  by  you,  I  have  little  to  add. 

Flour.  It  may  be  observed,  that  we  can  sell  them  the  flour 
ready  manufactured  for  much  less  than  the  wheat  of  which  it  is 
made.  In  carrying  to  them  wheat,  we  carry  also  the  bran,  which 
docs  not  pay  its  own  freight.  In  attempting  to  save  and  trans- 
port wheat  to  them,  much  is  lost  by  the  weavil,  and  much 
spoiled  by  heat  in  the  hold  of  the  vessel.  This  loss  must  be 
laid  on  the  wheat  which  gets  safe  to  market,  where  it  is  paid  for 
by  the  consumer.  Now,  this  is  much  more  than  the  cost  of 
manufacturing  it  with  us,  which  would  prevent  that  loss.  I  sup- 
pose the  cost  of  manufacturing  does  not  exceed  seven  per  cent. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  493 

on  the  value.  But  the  loss  by  the  weavil,  and  other  damage  on 
shipboard,  amount  to  much  more.  Let  them  buy  of  us  as  much 
wheat  as  will  make  a  hundred  weight  of  flour.  They  will  find 
that  they  have  paid  more  for  the  wheat  than  we  should  have 
asked  for  the  flour,  besides  having  lost  the  labor  of  their  mills  in 
grinding  it.  The  obliging  us,  therefore,  to  carry  it  to  them  in 
the  form  of  wheat,  is  a  useless  loss  to  both  parties. 

Iron.  They  will  get  none  from  us.  We  cannot  make  it  in 
competition  with  Sweden,  or  any  other  nation  of  Europe,  where 
labor  is  so  much  cheaper. 

Wines.  The  strength  of  the  wines  of  Portugal  will  give 
them  always  an  almost  exclusive  possession  of  a  country,  where 
the  summers  are  so  hot  as  in  America.  The  present  demand 
will  be  very  great,  if  they  will  enable  us  to  pay  for  them  ;  but 
if  they  consider  the  extent  and  rapid  population  of  the  United 
States,  they  must  see  that  the  time  is  not  distant,  when  they 
will  not  be  able  to  make  enough  for  us,  and  that  it  is  of  great 
importance  to  avail  themselves  of  the  prejudices  already  estab- 
lished in  favor  of  their  wines,  and  to  continue  them  by  facilitat- 
ing the  purchase.  Let  them  do  this,  and  they  need  not  care  for 
the  decline  of  their  use  in  England.  They  will  be  independent 
of  that  country. 

Salt.  I  do  not  know  where  the  northern  States  supplied 
themselves  with  salt,  but  the  southern  ones  took  great  quantities 
from  Portugal. 

Cotton  and  Wool.  The  southern  States  will  take  manufac- 
tures of  both  :  the  northern  will  take  both  the  manufactures 
and  raw  materials. 

East  India  goods  of  every  kind.  Philadelphia  and  New  York 
have  begun  trade  to  the  East  Indies.  Perhaps  Boston  may  fol- 
low their  example.  But  their  importations  will  be  sold  only  to 
the  country  adjacent  to  them.  For  a  long  time  to  come,  the 
States  south  of  the  Delaware  will  not  engage  in  a  direct  com- 
merce with  the  East  Indies.  They  neither  have,  nor  will  have 
ships  or  seamen  for  their  other  commerce :  nor  will  they  buy 
East  India  goods  of  the  northern  States.  Experience  shows  that 


494  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

the  States  never  bought  foreign  good  of  one  another.  The 
reasons  are,  that  they  would,  in  so  doing,  pay  double  freight  and 
charges ;  and  again,  that  they  would  have  to  pay  mostly  in  cash, 
what  they  could  obtain  for  commodities  in  Europe.  I  know 
that  the  American  merchants  have  looked,  with  some  anxiety,  to 
the  arrangements  to  be  taken  with  Portugal,  in  expectation  that 
they  could,  through  her,  get  their  East  India  articles  on  better 
and  more  convenient  terms  ;  and  I  am  of  opinion,  Portugal  will 
come  in  for  a  good  share  of  this  traffic  with  the  southem  States, 
if  they  facilitate  our  payments. 

Coffee.     Can  they  not  furnish  us  with  this  article  from  Brazil  ? 

Sugar.  The  Brazil  sugars  are  esteemed,  with  us,  more  than 
any  other. 

Chocolate.  This  article,  when  ready  made,  as  also  the  cocoa, 
becomes  so  soon  rancid,  and  the  difficulties  of  getting  in  fresh 
have  been  so  great  in  America,  that  its  use  has  spread  but  little. 
The  way  to  increase  its  consumption  would  be,  to  permit  it  to  be 
brought  to  us  immediately  from  the  country  of  its  growth.  By 
getting  it  good  in  quality,  and  cheap  in  price,  the  superiority  of 
the  article,  both  for  health  and  nourishment,  will  soon  give  it  the 
same  preference  over  tea  and  coffee  in  America,  which  it  has  in 
Spain,  where  they  can  get  it  by  a  single  voyage,  and,  of  course, 
while  it  is  sweet.  The  use  of  the  sugars,  coffee,  and  cotton  of 
Brazil,  would  also  be  much  extended  by  a  similar  indulgence. 

Ginger  and  spices  from  the  Brazils,  if  they  had  the  advantage 
of  a  direct  transportation,  might  take  place  of  the  same  articles 
from  the  East  Indies. 

Ginseng.  We  can  furnish  them  with  enough  to  supply  their 
whole  demand  for  the  East  Indies. 

They  should  be  prepared  to  expect,  that  in  the  beginning  of 
this  commerce,  more  money  will  be  taken  by  us,  than  after 
awhile.  The  reasons  are,  that  our  heavy  debt  to  Great  Britain 
must  be  paid,  before  we  shall  be  masters  of  our  own  returns  ; 
and  again,  that  habits  of  using  particular  things  are  produced 
only  by  time  and  practice. 

That  as  little  time  as  possible  may  be  lost  in  this  negotiation, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  495 

I  will  communicate  to  you,  at  once,  my  sentiments  as  to  the 
alterations  in  the  draught  sent  them,  which  will  probably  be 
proposed  by  them,  or  which  ought  to  be  proposed  by  us,  noting 
only  those  articles. 

Article  3.  They  will  probably  restrain  us  to  their  dominions 
in  Europe.  We  must  expressly  include  the  Azores,  Madeiras, 
and  Cape  de  Verd  islands,  some  of  which  are  deemed  to  be  in 
Africa.  We  should  also  contend  for  an  access  to  their  possess- 
ions in  America,  according  to  the  gradation  in  the  2d  article  of 
our  instructions  of  May  the  7th,  1784.  But  if  we  can  obtain  it 
in  no  one  of  these  forms,  I  am  of  opinion  we  should  give  it  up. 

Article  4.  This  should  be  put  into  the  form  we  gave  it,  in  the 
draught  sent  you  by  Dr.  Franklin  and  myself,  for  Great  Britain. 
I  think  we  had  not  reformed  this  article,  when  we  sent  our 
draught  to  Portugal.  You  know  the  Confederation  renders  the 
reformation  absolutely  necessary ;  a  circumstance  which  had  es- 
caped us  at  first. 

Article  9.  Add,  from  the  British  draught,  the  clause  about 
wrecks. 

Article  13.  The  passage  "  nevertheless,"  &c.,  to  run  as  in  the 
British  draught. 

Article  18.  After  the  word  "  accident,'  'insert  "  or  wanting  sup- 
plies of  provisions  or  other  refreshments."  And  again,  instead 
of  "  take  refuge,"  insert  "  come,"  and  after  "  of  the  other"  insert 
"  in  any  part  of  the  world."  The  object  of  this  is  to  obtain 
leave  for  our  whaling  vessels  to  refit  and  refresh  on  the  coast  of 
the  Brazils ;  an  object  of  immense  importance  to  that  class  of 
our  vessels.  We  must  acquiesce  under  such  modifications  as 
they  may  think  necessary,  for  regulating  this  indulgence,  in 
hopes  to  lessen  them  in  time,  and  to  get  a  pied  a  terre  in  that 
country. 

Article  19.  Can  we  get  this  extended  to  the  Brazils  ?  It 
would  be  precious  in  case  of  a  war  with  Spain. 

Article  23.  Between  "  places"  and  "  whose,"  insert  "  and  in 
general,  all  others,"  as  in  the  British  draught. 

Article  24.  For  "  necessaries,"  substitute  "  comforts." 


496  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Article  25.  Add  "  but  if  any  such  .consuls  shall  exercise  com- 
merce," &c.,  as  in  the  British  draught. 

We  should  give  to  Congress  as  early  notice  as  possible  of  the 
re-institution  of  this  negotiation  ;  because,  in  a  letter  by  a  gentle- 
man who  sailed  from  Havre,  the  10th  instant,  I  communicated 
to  them  the  answer  of  the  Portuguese  minister,  through  the  am- 
bassador here,  which  I  sent  to  you.  They  may,  in  consequence, 
be  making  other  arrangements  which  might  do  injury.  The 
little  time  which  now  remains,  of  the  continuance  of  our  com- 
missions, should  also  be  used  with  the  Chevalier  de  Pinto,  to 
hasten  the  movements  of  his  court. 

But  all  these  preparations  for  trade  with  Portugal  will  fail  in 
their  e fleet,  unless  the  depredations  of  the  Algerines  can  be  pre- 
vented. I  am  far  from  confiding  in  the  measures  taken  for  this 
purpose.  Very  possibly  war  must  be  recurred  to.  Portugal  is 
at  war  with  them.  Suppose  the  Chevalier  de  Pinto  was  to  be 
sounded  on  the  subject  of  an  union  of  force,  and  even  a  stipula- 
tion for  contributing,  each,  a  certain  force,  to  be  kept  in  con- 
stant cruise.  Such  a  league  once  begun,  other  nations  would 
drop  into  it,  one  by  one.  If  he  should  seem  to  approve  it,  it 
might  then  be  suggested  to  Congress,  who,  if  they  should  be 
forced  to  try  the  measure  of  war,  would  doubtless  be  glad  of 
such  an  ally.  As  the  Portuguese  negotiation  should  be  hastened, 
I  suppose  our  communications  must  often  be  trusted  to  the  post, 
availing  ourselves  of  the  cover  of  our  cypher. 

I  am,  with  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    COLONEL    HUMPHREYS. 

PARIS,  December  4,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  enclose  you  a  letter  from  Gatteaux,  observing 
that  there  will  be  an  anachronism,  if,  in  making  a  medal  to  com- 
memorate the  victory  of  Saratoga,  he  puts  on  General  Gates  the 
insignia  of  the  Cincinnati,  which  did  not  exist  at  that  date.  I 


CORRESPONDENCE.  497 

wrote  him,  in  answer,  that  I  thought  so  too,  but  that  you  had 
the  direction  of  the  business ;  that  you  were  now  in  London  ; 
that  I  would  write  to  you,  and  probably  should  have  an  answer 
within  a  fortnight ;  and,  that  in  the  meantime,  he  could  be  em- 
ployed on  other  parts  of  the  die.  I  supposed  you  might  not 
have  observed, on  the  print  of  General  Gates,  the  insignia  of  the 
Cincinnati,  or  did  not  mean  that  that  particular  should  be  copied. 
Another  reason  against  it  strikes  me.  Congress  have  studiously 
avoided  giving  to  the  public  their  sense  of  this  institution. 
Should  medals  be  prepared,  to  be  presented  from  them  to  certain 
officers,  and  bearing  on  them  the  insignia  of  the  order,  as  the 
presenting  them  would  involve  an  approbation  of  the  institution, 
a  previous  question  would  be  forced  on  them,  whether  they 
would  present  these  medals  ?  I  am  of  opinion  it  would  be  very 
disagreeable  to  them  to  be  placed  under  the  necessity  of  making 
this  declaration.  Be  so  good  as  to  let  me  know  your  wishes  on 
this  subject,  by  the  first  post. 

Mr.  Short  has  been  sick  ever  since  you  left  us.  Nothing  new 
has  occurred  here,  since  your  departure.  I  imagine  you  have 
American  news.  If  so,  pray  give  us  some.  Present  me  affec- 
tionately to  Mr.  Adams  and  the  ladies,  and  to  Colonel  Smith  ; 
and  be  assured  of  the  esteem  with  which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your 
friend  and  servant. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  December  10,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — On  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Boylston,  I  carried  him  to 
the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  who  received  from  him  communica- 
tions of  his  object.  This  was  to  get  a  remission  of  the  duties 
on  his  cargo  of  oil,  and  he  was  willing  to  propose  a  future  con- 
tract. I  suggested,  however,  to  the  Marquis,  when  we  were 
alone,  that  instead  of  wasting  our  efforts  on  individual  applica- 
tions, we  had  better  take  up  the  subject  on  general  ground,  and 
whatever  could  be  obtained,  let  it  be  common  to  all.  He  con- 
curred with  me.  As  the  jealousy  of  office  between  ministers 

VOL.  i.  32 


498  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

does  not  permit  me  to  apply  immediately  to  the  one  in  whose 
department  this  was,  the  Marquis's  agency  was  used.  The  re- 
sult was,  to  put  us  on  the  footing  of  the  Hanseatic  towns,  as  to 
whale  oil,  and  to  reduce  the  duties  to  eleven  livres  and  five  sols 
for  five  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  French,  which  is  very 
nearly  two  livres  on  the  English  hundred  weight,  or  ahout  a 
guinea  and  a  half  the  ton.  But  the  oil  must  he  brought  in 
American  or  French  ships,  and  the  indulgence  is  limited  to  one 
year.  However,  as  to  this,  I  expressed  to  Count  de  Vergennes 
my  hopes  that  it  would  be  continued  ;  and  should  a  doubt  arise, 
I  should  propose,  at  the  proper  time,  to  claim  it  under  the  treaty, 
on  the  footing  gentis  amicissimce.  After  all,  I  believe  Mr. 
Boylston  has  failed  of  selling  to  Sangrain,  and,  from  what  I 
learn,  through  a  little  too  much  hastiness  of  temper.  Perhaps 
they  may  yet  come  together,  or  he  may  sell  to  somebody  else. 

When  the  general  matter  was  thus  arranged,  a  Mr.  Barrett  ar- 
rived here  from  Boston,  with  letters  of  recommendation  from 
Governor  Bowdoin,  Gushing,  and  others.  His  errand  was,  to 
get  the  whale  business  here  put  on  a  general  bottom,  instead  of 
the  particular  one,  which  had  been  settled,  you  know,  the  last 
year,  for  a  special  company.  We  told  him  what  was  done.  He 
thinks  it  will  answer,  and  proposes  to  settle  at  L'Orient,  for  con- 
ducting the  sales  of  the  oil,  and  the  returns.  I  hope,  therefore, 
that  this  matter  is  tolerably  well  fixed,  as  far  as  the  consumption 
of  this  country  goes.  I  know  not,  as  yet,  to  what  amount  that 
is  ;  but  shall  endeavor  to  find  out  how  much  they  consume,  and 
how  much  they  furnish  themselves.  I  propose  to  Mr.  Barrett, 
that  he  should  induce  either  his  State  or  individuals  to  send  a 
sufficient  number  of  boxes  of  the  spermaceti  candle,  to  give  one 
to  every  leading  house  in  Paris ;  I  mean  to  those  who  lead  the 
ton  ;  and, at  the  same  time,  to  deposit  a  quantity  for  sale  here, 
and  advertise  them  in  the  petites  affiches.  I  have  written  to  Mr. 
Carmichael,  to  know  on  what  footing  the  use  and  introduction 
of  the  whale  oil  is  there,  or  can  be  placed. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  very  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir, 
your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  499 


TO    THE    GOVERNOR    OF    GEORGIA. 

PARIS,  December  22,  1785. 

SIR, — The  death  of  the  late  General  Oglethorpe,  who  had  con- 
siderable possessions  in  Georgia,  has  given  rise,  as  we  understand, 
to  questions  whether  those  possessions  have  become  the  property 
of  the  State,  or  have  been  transferred  by  his  will  to  his  widow, 
or  descended  on  the  nearest  heir  capable  in  law  of  taking  them. 
In  the  latter  case,  the  Chevalier  de  Mezieres,  a  subject  of  France, 
stands  foremost,  as  being  made  capable  of  the  inheritance  by  the 
treaty  between  this  country  and  the  United  States.  Under  the 
regal  government,  it  was  the  practice  with  us,  when  lands  passed 
to  the  crown  by  escheat  or  forfeiture,  to  grant  them  to  such  rela- 
tion of  the  party,  as  stood  on  the  fairest  ground.  This  was  even 
a  chartered  right  in  some  of  the  States.  The  practice  has  been 
continued  among  them,  as  deeming  that  the  late  Revolution  should, 
in  no  instance,  abridge  the  rights  of  the  people.  Should  this  have 
been  the  practice  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  or  should  they,  in  any 
instance,  think  proper  to  admit  it,  I  am  persuaded  none  will  arise, 
in  which  it  would  be  more  expedient  to  do  it,  than  in  the  present, 
and  that  no  person's  expectations  should  be  fairer  than  those  of  the 
Chevalier  de  Mezieres.  He  is  the  nephew  of  General  Oglethorpe, 
he  is  of  singular  personal  merit,  an  officer  of  rank,  of  high  connec- 
tions, and  patronized  by  the  ministers.  His  case  has  drawn  their 
attention,  and  seems  to  be  considered  as  protected  by  the  treaty 
of  alliance,  and  as  presenting  a  trial  of  our  regard  to  that.  Should 
these  lands  be  considered  as  having  passed  to  the  State,  I  take 
the  liberty  of  recommending  him  to  the  legislature  of  Georgia, 
as  worthy  of  their  generosity,  and  as  presenting  an  opportunity 
of  proving  the  favorable  dispositions  which  exist  throughout 
America,  towards  the  subjects  of  this  country,  and  an  opportu- 
nity too,  which  will  probably  be  known  and  noted  here. 

In  the  several  views,  therefore,  of  personal  merit,  justice,  gener- 
osity and  -policy?  I  presume  to  recommend  the  Chevalier  de 
Mezieres,  and  his  interests,  to  the  notice  and  patronage  of  your 


500  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Excellency,  whom  the  choice  of  your  country  has  sufficiently 
marked,  as  possessing  the  dispositions,  while  it  has,  at  the  same 
time,  given  you  the  power,  to  befriend  just  claims.  The  Chevalier 
de  Mezieres  will  pass  over  to  Georgia  in  the  ensuing  spring ;  but, 
should  he  find  an  opportunity,  he  will  probably  forward  this  letter 
sooner.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  most 
profound  respect,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most 
humble  servant. 


TO    THE    GEORGIA    DELEGATES    IN    CONGRESS. 

PARIS,  December  22,   1785. 

GENTLEMEN, — By  my  despatch  to  Mr.  Jay,  which  accompanies 
this,  you  will  perceive  that  the  claims  of  the  Chevalier  de  Me- 
zieres, nephew  to  the  late  General  Oglethorpe,  to  his  possessions 
within  your  State,  have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  ministry 
here  ;  and  that, considering  them  as  protected  by  their  treaty  with 
us,  they  have  viewed  as  derogatory  of  that,  the  doubts  which 
have  been  expressed  on  the  subject.  I  have  thought  it  best  to 
present  to  them  those  claims  in  the  least  favorable  point  of  view, 
to  lessen,  as  much  as  possible,  the  ill  effects  of  a  disappointment ; 
but  I  think  it  my  duty  to  ask  your  notice  and  patronage  of  this 
case  as  one  whose  decision  will  have  an  effect  on  the  general 
interests  of  the  Union. 

The  Chevalier  de  Mezieres  is  nephew  to  General  Oglethorpe ; 
he  is  a  person  of  great  estimation,  powerfully  related  and  protected. 
His  interests  are  espoused  by  those  whom  it  is  our  interest  to 
gratify.  I  will  take  the  liberty,  therefore,  of  soliciting  your  re- 
commendations of  him  to  the  generosity  of  your  legislature,  and 
to  the  patronage  and  good  offices  of  your  friends,  whose  efforts, 
though  in  a  private  case,  will  do  a  public  good.  The  pecuniary 
advantages  of  confiscation,  in  this  instance,  cannot  compensate  its 
ill  effects.  It  is  difficult  to  make  foreigners  understand  those  legal 
distinctions  between  the  effects  of  forfeiture,  of  escheat,  and  of 


CORRESPONDENCE.  501 

conveyance,  on  which  the  professors  of  the  law  might  build  their 
opinions  in  this  case.  They  can  see  only  the  outlines  of  the  case  ; 
to  wit,  the  death  of  a  possessor  of  lands  lying  within  the  United 
States,  leaving  an  heir  in  France,  and  the  State  claiming  those 
lands  in  opposition  to  the  heir.  An  individual,  thinking  himself  in- 
jured, makes  more  noise  than  a  State.  Perhaps,  too,  in  every  case 
which  either  party  to  a  treaty  thinks  to  be  within  its  provisions, 
it  is  better  not  to  weigh  the  syllables  and  letters  of  the  treaty, 
but  to  show  that  gratitude  and  affection  render  that  appeal  un- 
necessary. I  take  the  freedom,  therefore,  of  submitting  to  your 
wisdom,  the  motives  which  present  themselves  in  favor  of  a  grant 
to  the  Chevalier  de  Mezieres,  and  the  expediency  of  urging  them 
on  your  State,  as  far  as  you  may  think  proper. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect, 
Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  December  27,  1785. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favors  of  the  13th  and  20th,  were  put  in  my 
hands  to-day.  This  will  be  delivered  you  by  Mr.  Dalrymple, 
secretary  to  the  legation  of  Mr.  Crawford.  I  do  not  know  whether 
you  were  acquainted  with  him  here.  He  is  a  young  man  of 
learning  and  candor,  and  exhibits  a  phenomenon  I  never  before 
met  with,  that  is,  a  republican  born  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Tweed. 

You  have  been  consulted  in  the  case  of  the  Chevalier  de  Me- 
zieres, nephew  to  General  Oglethorpe,  and  are  understood  to  have 
given  an  opinion  derogatory  of  our  treaty  with  France.  I  was 
also  consulted,  and  understood  in  the  same  way.  I  was  of  opinion 
the  Chevalier  had  no  right  to  the  estate,  and  as  he  had  determined 
the  treaty  gave  him  a  right,  I  suppose  he  made  the  inference  for 
me,  that  the  treaty  was  of  no  weight.  The  Count  de  Yergenncs 
mentioned  it  to  me  in  such  a  manner,  that  I  found  it  was  neces- 


502  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

sary  to  explain  the  case  to  him,  and  show  him  the  treaty  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  I  enclose  you  a  copy  of  the  explanation 
I  delivered  him. 

Mr.  Boylston  sold  his  cargo  to  an  agent  of  Monsieur  Sangrain. 
He  got  for  it  fifty-five  livres  the  hundred  weight.  I  do  not  think 
that  his  being  joined  to  a  company  here  would  contribute  to  its 
success.  His  capital  is  not  wanting.  Le  Conteux  has  agreed 
that  the  merchants  of  Boston,  sending  whale  oil  here,  may  draw 
on  him  for  a  certain  proportion  of  money,  only  giving  such  a  time 
in  their  drafts,  as  will  admit  the  actual  arrival  of  the  oil  into  a 
port  of  France,  for  his  security.  Upon  these  drafts,  Mr.  Barrett 
is  satisfied  they  will  be  able  to  raise  money,  to  make  their  pur- 
chases in  America.  The  duty  is  seven  livres  and  ten  sols  on  the 
barrel  of  five  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  French,  and  ten  sous 
on  every  livre,  which  raises  it  to  eleven  livres  and  five  sols,  the 
sum  I  mentioned  to  you.  France  uses  between  five  and  six  mil- 
lions of  pounds'  weight  French,  which  is  between  three  and  four 
thousand  tons,  English.  Their  own  fisheries  do  not  furnish  one 
million,  and  there  is  no  probability  of  their  improving.  Sangrain 
purchases  himself  upwards  of  a  million.  He  tells  me  our  oil  is 
better  than  the  Dutch  or  English,  because  we  make  it  fresh> 
whereas  they  cut  up  the  whale,  and  bring  it  home  to  be  made,  so 
that  it  is,  by  that  time,  entered  into  fermentation.  Mr.  Barrett 
says,  that  fifty  livres  the  hundred  weight  will  pay  the  prime  cost 
and  duties,  and  leave  a  profit  of  sixteen  per  cent  to  the  merchant. 
I  hope  that  England  will,  within  a  year  or  two,  be  obliged  to  come 
here  to  buy  whale  oil  for  her  lamps. 

I  like  as  little  as  you  do  to  have  the  gift  of  appointments.  I 
hope  Congress  will  not  transfer  the  appointment  of  their  consuls 
to  their  ministers.  But  if  they  do,  Portugal  is  more  naturally 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  minister  at  Madrid,  and  still 
more  naturally  under  that  of  the  minister  at  Lisbon,  where  it  is 
clear  they  ought  to  have  one.  If  all  my  hopes  fail,  the  letters 
of  Governor  Bowdoin  and  Gushing,  in  favor  of  young  Mr.  War- 
ren, and  your  more  detailed  testimony  in  his  behalf,  are  not  likely 
to  be  opposed  by  evidence  of  equal  weight,  in  favor  of  any  other. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  503 

I  think  with  you,  too,  that  it  is  for  the  public  interest  to  encour- 
age sacrifices  and  services,  by  rewarding  them,  and  that  they 
should  weigh  to  a  certain  point,  in  the  decision  between  candi- 
dates. 

I  am  sorry  for  the  illness  of  the  Chevalier  Pinto.  I  think  that 
treaty  important ;  and  the  moment  to  urge  it  is  that  of  a  treaty 
between  France  and  England. 

Lambe,  who  left  this  place  the  6th  of  November,  was  at  Ma- 
drid the  10th  of  this  month.  Since  his  departure,  Mr.  Barclay 
has  discovered  that  no  copies  of  the  full  powers  were  furnished 
to  himself,  nor  of  course  to  Lambe.  Colonel  Franks  has  pre- 
pared copies,  which  I  will  endeavor  to  get,  to  send  by  this  con- 
veyance for  your  attestation ;  which  you  will  be  so  good  as  to 
send  back  by  the  first  safe  conveyance,  and  I  will  forward  them. 
Mr.  Barclay  and  Colonel  Franks  being  at  this  moment  at  St. 
Germain's,  I  am  not  sure  of  getting  the  papers  in  time  to  go  by 
Mr.  Dalrymple.  In  that  case,  I  will  send  them  by  Mr 
Bingham. 

Be  so  good  as  to  present  me  affectionately  to  Mrs.  and  Miss 
Adams,  to  Colonels  Smith  and  Humphreys,  and  accept  assurances 
of  the  esteem  with  which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    T.    HOPKINSON. 

PARIS,  January  3,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  you  last,  on  the  25th  of  September.  Since 
that,  I  have  received  yours  of  October  the  25th,  enclosing  a 
duplicate  of  the  last  invented  tongue  for  the  harpsichord.  The 
letter  enclosing  another  of  them,  and  accompanied  by  newspa- 
pers, which  you  mention  in  that  of  October  the  25th,  has  never 
come  to  hand.  I  will  embrace  the  first  opportunity  of  sending 
you  the  crayons.  Perhaps  they  may  come  with  this,  which  I 
think  to  deliver  to  Mr.  Bingham,  who  leaves  us  on  Saturday,  for 
London.  If,  on  consulting  him,  I  find  the  conveyance  from 


504  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

London  uncertain,  you  shall  receive  them  by  a  Mr.  Barrett,  who 
goes  from  hence  for  New  York,  next  month.  You  have  not  au- 
thorized me  to  try  to  avail  you  of  the  new  tongue.  Indeed,  the 
ill  success  of  my  endeavors  with  the  last  does  not  promise  much 
with  this.  However,  I  shall  try.  Houdon  only  stopped  a  mo- 
ment, to  deliver  me  your  letter,  so  that  I  have  not  yet  had  an  op- 
portunity of  asking  his  opinion  of  the  improvement.  I  am  glad 
you  are  pleased  with  his  work.  He  is  among  the  foremost,  or, 
perhaps,  the  foremost  artist  in  the  world. 

Turning  to  your  Encyclopedic,  Arts  et  Metiers,  tome  3,  part  1, 
page  393,  you  will  find  mentioned  an  instrument,  invented  by  a 
Monsieur  Renaudin,  for  determining  the  true  time  of  the  musical 
movements,  largo,  adagio,  &c.  I  went  to  see  it.  He  showed  me 
his  first  invention ;  the  price  of  the  machine  was  twenty-five 
guineas ;  then  his  second,  which  he  had  been  able  to  make  for 
about  half  that  sum.  Both  of  these  had  a  mainspring  and  a 
balance  wheel,  for  their  mover  and  regulator.  The  strokes  were 
made  by  a  small  hammer.  He  then  showed  me  his  last,  which 
is  moved  by  a  weight  and  regulated  by  a  pendulum,  and  which 
cost  only  two  guineas  and  a  half.  It  presents,  in  front,  a  dial- 
plate  like  that  of  a  clock,  on  which  are  arranged,  in  a  circle,  the 
words  largo,  adagio,  andante,  allegro,  presto.  The  circle  is  more- 
over divided  into  fifty-two  equal  degrees.  Largo  is  at  1,  adagio 
at  11,  andante  at  22,  allegro  at  36,  and  presto  at  46.  Turning 
the  index  to  any  one  of  these,  the  pendulum  (which  is  a  string, 
with  a  ball  hanging  to  it)  shortens  or  lengthens,  so  that  one  of 
its  vibrations  gives  you  a  crotchet  for  that  movement.  This  in- 
strument has  been  examined  by  the  academy  of  music  here,  who 
are  so  well  satisfied  of  its  utility,  that  they  have  ordered  all  music 
which  shall  be  printed  here,  in  future,  to  have  the  movements 
numbered  in  correspondence  with  this  plexi-chronometer.  I 
need  not  tell  you  that  the  numbers  between  two  movements,  as 
between  22  and  36,  give  the  quicker  or  slower  degrees  of  the 
movements,  such  as  the  quick  andante,  or  moderate  allegro. 
The  instrument  is  useful,  but  still  it  may  be  greatly  simplified. 
I  got  him  to  make  me  one,  and  having  fixed  a  pendulum  vibrat- 


60  I    times 
-vibrates-!    70  i-    in  a 


CORRESPONDENCE.  505 

ing  seconds,  I  tried  by  that  the  vibrations  of  his  pendulum,  ac- 
cording to  the  several  movements. 
I  find  the  pendulum  regulated  to  Largo     ]  f  52 

Adagio 

Andante 

Allegro  95    minute. 

Presto     J  [l35 

Every  one,  therefore,  may  make  a  chronometer  adapted  to  his 
instrument. 

For  a  harpsichord,  the  following  occurs  to  me. 

Largo,       1   <\ 

Adagio,    2     \  In  the  wall  of  vour  chamber,  over  the  in- 

Andante,  3  \  " 

Allegro,  4           \      strument,  drive  five  little  brads,  as  1,  2,  3,  4, 

Presfco'     6  \5,  in  the  following  manner.     Take  a  string 

with  a  bob  to  it,  of  such  length,  as  that  hung  on  No.  1,  it  shall 
vibrate  fifty-two  times  in  a  minute.  Then  proceed  by  trial  to 
drive  No.  2,  at  such  a  distance,  that  drawing  the  loop  of  the  string 
to  that,  the  part  remaining  between  1  and  the  bob,  shall  vibrate 
sixty  times  in  a  minute.  Fix  the  third  for  seventy  vibrations, 
&c.;  the  cord  always  hanging  over  No.  1,  as  the  centre  of  vibra- 
tion. A  person,  playing  on  the  violin,  may  fix  this  on  his  music 
stand.  A  pendulum  thrown  into  vibration,  will  continue  in  mo- 
tion long  enough  to  give  you  the  time  of  your  piece.  .  I  have 
been  thus  particular,  on  the  supposition  that  you  would  fix  one 
of  these  simple  things  for  yourself. 

You  have  heard  often  of  the  metal,  called  platina,  to  be  found 
only  in  South  America.  It  is  insusceptible  of  rust,  as  gold  and 
silver  are,  none  of  the  acids  affecting  it,  excepting  the  aqua 
regia.  It  also  admits  of  as  perfect  a  polish  as  the  metal  hitherto 
used  for  the  specula  of  telescopes.  These  two  properties  had 
suggested  to  the  Spaniards  the  substitution  of  it  for  that  use. 
But  the  mines  being  closed  up  by  the  government,  it  is  difficult 
to  get  the  metal.  The  experiment  has  been  lately  tried  here  by 
the  AbbJ  Rochon,  (whom  I  formerly  mentioned  to  Mr.  Ritten- 
house,  as  having  discovered  that  lenses  of  certain  natural  crys- 
tals have  two  different  and  uncombined  magnifying  powers)  and 


506  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

he  thinks  the  polish  as  high  as  that  of  the  metal  heretofore  used, 
and  that  it  will  never  be  injured  by  the  air,  a  touch  of  the  finger, 
&c.  I  examined  it  in  a  dull  day,  which  did  not  admit  a  fair 
judgment  of  the  strength  of  its  reflection. 

Good  qualities  are  sometimes  misfortunes.  I  will  prove  it  from 
your  own  experience.  You  are  punctual ;  and  almost  the  only 
one  of  my  correspondents  on  whom  I  can  firmly  rely  for  the 
execution  of  commissions  which  combine  a  little  trouble  with 
more  attention.  I  am  very  sorry,  however,  that  I  have  three 
commissions  to  charge  you  with,  which  will  give  you  more  than 
a  little  trouble.  Two  of  them  are  for  Monsieur  de  Buifon. 
Many,  many  years  ago,  Cadwallader  Golden  wrote  a  very  small 
pamphlet  on  the  subjects  of  attraction  and  impulsion,  a  copy  of 
which  he  sent  to  Monsieur  de  Baffon.  He  was  so  charmed  with 
it,  that  he  put  it  into  the  hands  of  a  friend  to  translate,  who  lost 
it.  It  has  ever  since  weighed  on  his  mind,  and  he  has  made  re- 
peated trials  to  have  it  found  in  England.  But  in  vain.  He  ap- 
plied to  me.  I  am  in  hopes,  if  you  will  write  a  line  to  the  book- 
sellers of  Philadelphia  to  rummage  their  shops,  that  some  of  them 
may  find  it.  Or,  perhaps,  some  of  the  careful  old  people  of 
Pennsylvania  or  New  Jersey  may  have  preserved  a  copy.  In  the 
King's  cabinet  of  Natural  history,  of  which  Monsieur  de  Buffon 
has  the  superintendence,  I  observed  that  they  had  neither  our 
grouse  nor  our  pheasant.  These,  I  know,  may  be  bought  in  the 
market  of  Philadelphia,  on  any  day  while  they  are  in  season. 
Pray  buy  the  male  and  female  of  each,  and  employ  some  apoth- 
ecary's boy  to  prepare  them,  and  pack  them.  Methods  may  be 
seen  in  the  preliminary  discourse  to  the  first  volume  of  Birds,  in 
the  Encyclopedic,  or  in  the  Natural  history  of  Buifon,  where  he 
describes  the  King's  cabinet.  And  this  done,  you  will  be  so 
good  as  to  send  them  to  me.  The  third  commission  is  more  dis- 
tant. It  is  to  procure  me  two  or  three  hundred  paccan-nuts  from 
the  western  country.  I  expect  they  can  always  be  got  at  Pitts- 
burg,  and  am  in  hopes,  that  by  yourself  or  your  friends,  some  at- 
tentive person  there  may  be  engaged  to  send  them  to  you.  They 
should  come  as  fresh  as  possible,  and  come  best,  I  believe,  in  a 


CORRESPONDENCE.  507 

box  of  sand.  Of  this  Barham  could  best  advise  you.  I  imagine 
vessels  are  always  coming  from  Philadelphia  to  France.  If  there 
be  a  choice  of  ports,  Havre  would  be  best.  I  must  beg  you  to 
direct  them  to  the  care  of  the  American  consul  or  agent  at  the 
port,  to  be  sent  by  the  Diligence  or  Fourgon.  A  thousand  apol- 
ogies would  not  suffice  for  this  trouble,  if  I  meant  to  pay  you  in 
apologies  only.  But  I  sincerely  ask,  and  will  punctually  execute, 
the  appointment  of  your  charge  des  affaires  in  Europe  generally. 
From  the  smallest  to  the  highest  commission,  I  will  execute  with 
zeal  and  punctuality,  in  buying,  or  doing  anything  you  wish,  on 
this  side  the  water.  And  you  may  judge  from  the  preceding 
specimen,  that  I  shall  not  be  behind  hand  in  the  trouble  I  shall 
impose  on  you.  Make  a  note  of  all  the  expenses  attending  my 
commissions,  and  favor  me  with  it  every  now  and  then,  and  I 
will  replace  them.  My  daughter  is  well,  and  retains  an  affec- 
tionate remembrance  of  her  ancient  patroness,  your  mother,  as 
well  as  your  lady  and  family.  She  joins  me  in  wishing  to  them, 
and  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rittenhouse  and  family,  every  happiness. 
Accept,  yourself,  assurances  of  the  esteem  with  which  I  am,  dear 
Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 

P.  S.  What  is  become  of  the  Lunarium  for  the  King  ? 


TO    A.   CARY. 

PAUIS,  January  7,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — The  very  few  of  my  countrymen,  who  happen  to 
be  punctual,  will  find  their  punctuality  a  misfortune  to  them. 
Of  this,  I  shall  give  you  a  proof  by  the  present  application,  which 
I  should  not  make  to  you  if  I  did  not  know  you  to  be  superior 
to  the  torpidity  of  our  climate.  In  my  conversations  with  the 
Count  de  Buflbn  on  the  subjects  of  natural  history,  I  find  him 
absolutely  unacquainted  with  our  elk  and  our  deer.  He  has 
hitherto  believed  that  our  deer  never  had  horns  more  than  a  foot 
long ;  and  has,  therefore,  classed  them  with  the  roe  buck,  which 
I  am  sure  you  know  them  to  be  different  from.  I  have  exam- 
ined some  of  the  red  deer  of  this  country  at  the  distance  of 


JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

about  sixty  yards,  and  I  find  no  other  difference  between  them 
and  ours  than  a  shade  or  two  in  the  color.  Will  you  take  the 
trouble  to  procure  for  me  the  largest  pair  of  buck's  horns  you 
can,  and  a  large  skin  of  each  color,  that  is  to  say,  a  red  and  a 
blue  ?  If  it  were  possible  to  take  these  from  a  buck  just  killed, 
to  leave  all  the  bones  of  the  head  in  the  skin,  with  the  horns  on, 
to  leave  the  bones  of  the  legs  in  the  skin  also,  and  the  hoofs  to 
it,  so  that,  having  only  made  an  incision  all  along  the  belly  and 
neck,  to  take  the  animal  out  at,  we  could,  by  sewing  up  that  in- 
cision, and  stuffing  the  skin,  present  the  true  size  and  form  of 
the  animal,  it  would  be  a  most  precious  present.  Our  deer  have 
been  often  sent  to  England  and  Scotland.  Do  you  know  (with 
certainty)  whether  they  have  ever  bred  with  the  red  deer  of 
those  countries  ?  With  respect  to  the  elk,  I  despair  of  your  being 
able  to  get  for  me  anything  but  the  horns  of  it.  David  Ross, 
I  know,  has  a  pair ;  perhaps  he  would  give  them  to  us.  It  is 
useless  to  ask  for  the  skin  and  skeleton,  because  I  think  it  not  in 
your  power  to  get  them,  otherwise,  they  would  be  most  desira- 
ble. A  gentleman,  fellow  passenger  with  me  from  Boston  to 
England,  promised  to  send  to  you,  in  my  name,  some  hares,  rab- 
bits, pheasants,  and  partridges,  by  the  return  of  the  ship,  which 
was  to  go  to  Virginia,  and  the  captain  promised  to  take  great  care 
of  them.  My  friend  procured  the  animals,  and  the  ship  chang- 
ing her  destination,  he  kept  them  in  hopes  of  finding  some  other 
conveyance,  till  they  all  perished.  I  do  not  despair,  however,  of 
finding  some  opportunity  still  of  sending  a  colony  of  useful  ani- 
mals. I  am  making  a  collection  of  vines  for  wine  and  for  the 
table  ;  also  of  some  trees,  such  as  the  cork  oak,  &c.,  &c. 

Everything  is  absolutely  quiet  in  Europe.  There  is  not,  there- 
fore, a  word  of  news  to  communicate.  I  pray  you  to  present  me 
affectionately  to  your  family,  and  that  of  Tuckahoe.  Whatever 
expense  is  necessary  for  procuring  me  the  articles  above-men- 
tioned, I  will  instantly  replace,  either  in  cash  or  in  anything  you 
may  wish  from  hence. 

I  am,  with  very  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient 
humble  servant. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  509 


TO    MAJOR    GENERAL    GREENE. 

PARIS,  January  12,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  of  June  the  1st  did  not  come  to  hand 
till  the  3d  of  September.  I  immediately  made  inquiries  on  the 
subject  of  the  frigate  you  had  authorized  your  relation  to  sell  tc 
this  government,  and  I  found  that  he  had  long  before  that  sold 
her  to  government,  and  sold  her  very  well,  as  I  understood.  I 
noted  the  price  on  the  back  of  your  letter,  which  I  have  since 
unfortunately  mislaid,  so  that  I  cannot  at  this  moment  state  to 
you  the  price.  But  the  transaction  is  of  so  long  a  standing  that 
you  cannot  fail  to  have  received  advice  of  it.  I  should  without 
delay  have  given  you  this  information,  but  that  I  hoped  to  be 
able  to  accompany  it  with  information  as  to  the  live  oak,  which 
was  another  object  of  your  letter.  This  matter,  though  it  has 
been  constantly  pressed  by  Mr.  St.  John,  and  also  by  the  Marquis 
de  La  Fayette  since  his  return  from  Berlin,  has  been  spun  to  a 
great  length,  and  at  last  they  have  only  decided  to  send  to  you 
for  samples  of  the  wood.  Letters  on  this  subject  from  the  Mar- 
quis de  La  Fayette  accompany  this. 

Everything  in  Europe  is  quiet,  and  promises  quiet  for  at  least 
a  year  to  come.  We  do  not  find  it  easy  to  make  commercial 
arrangements  in  Europe.  There  is  a  want  of  confidence  in  us. 
This  country  has  lately  reduced  the  duties  on  American  whale 
oil  to  about  a  guinea  and  a  half  the  ton,  and  I  think  they  will 
take  the  greatest  part  of  what  we  can  furnish.  I  hope,  therefore, 
that  this  branch  of  our  commerce  will  resume  its  activity.  Portu- 
gal shows  a  disposition  to  court  our  trade,  but  this  has  for  some 
time  been  discouraged  by  the  hostilities  of  the  piratical  States  of 
Barbary.  The  Emperor  of  Morocco,  who  had  taken  one  of  our 
vessels,  immediately  consented  to  suspend  hostilities,  and  ulti- 
mately gave  up  the  vessel,  cargo  arid  crew.  I  think  we  shall  be 
able  to  settle  matters  with  him.  But  I  am  not  sanguine  as  to  the 
Algerines.  They  have  taken  two  of  our  vessels,  and  I  fear  will 
ask  such  a  tribute  for  a  forbearance  of  their  piracies  as  the  United 
States  would  be  unwilling  to  pay.  When  this  idea  comes  across 


510  JEFFERSON'S    "WORKS. 

my  mind,  my  faculties  are  absolutely  suspended  between  indigna- 
tion and  impatience.  I  think,  whatever  sums  we  are  obliged  to 
pay  for  freedom  of  navigation  in  the  European  seas,  should  be 
levied  on  the  European  commerce  with  us  by  a  separate  impost, 
that  these  powers  may  see  that  they  protect  these  enormities  for 
their  own  loss. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  most  perfect 
esteem  and  respect,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  hum- 
ble servant. 


TO    MR.    ADAMS. 

PARTS,  January  12,  1786. 

SIR, — You  were  here  the  last  year  when  the  interest  due  to 
the  French  officers  was  paid  to  them,  and  were  sensible  of  the 
good  effect  it  had  on  the  credit  and  honor  of  the  United  States. 
A  second  year's  interest  is  become  due.  They  have  presented 
their  demands.  There  is  not  money  here  to  pay  them ;  the  pit- 
tance, remaining  in  Mr.  Grand's  hands,  being  only  sufficient  to 
pay  current  expenses  three  months  longer.  The  dissatisfaction 
of  these  officers  is  extreme,  and  their  complaints  will  produce 
the  worst  effect.  The  Treasury  Board  has  not  ordered  their 
payment,  probably  because  they  knew  there  would  not  be  money. 
The  amount  of  their  demand  is  about  forty-two  thousand  livres, 
and  Mr.  Grand  has  in  his  hands  but  twelve  thousand.  I  have 
thought  it  my  duty,  under  this  emergency,  to  ask  you  whether 
you  could  order  that  sum  for  their  relief  from  the  funds  in  Hol- 
land? If  you  can,  I  am  persuaded  it  will  have  the  best  of 
effects. 

The  Imperial  ambassador  took  me  apart  the  other  day  at  Count 
d' Aranda's,  and  observed  to  me  that  Dr.  Franklin,  about  eighteen 
or  twenty  months  ago,  had  written  to  him  a  letter  proposing  a 
treaty  of  commerce  between  the  Emperor  and  the  United  States  : 
that  he  had  communicated  it  to  the  Emperor,  and  had  answered 
to  Dr.  Franklin  that  they  were  ready  to  enter  into  arrangements 


CORRESPONDENCE.  511 

for  that  purpose,  but  that  he  had  since  that  received  no  reply 
from  us.  I  told  him  I  knew  well  that  Dr.  Franklin  had  written 
as  he  mentioned,  but  that  this  was  the  first  mention  I  had  ever 
heard  made  of  any  answer  to  the  letter.  That,  on  the  contrary,  we 
had  always  supposed  it  was  unanswered,  and  had  therefore  ex- 
pected the  next  step  from  him.  He  expressed  his  wonder  at  this, 
and  said  he  would  have  the  copy  of  his  answer  sought  for  and 
send  it  to  me.  However,  he  observed  that  this  matter  being  now 
understood  between  us,  the  two  countries  might  proceed  to  make 
the  arrangements.  I  told  him  the  delay  had  been  the  more  un- 
lucky, as  our  powers  were  now  near  expiring.  He  said  he  supposed 
Congress  could  have  no  objections  to  renew  them,  or  perhaps 
to  send  some  person  to  Brussels  to  negotiate  the  matter  there. 
We  remitted  all  further  discussion  till  he  should  send  me  a  copy 
of  his  letter.  He  has  not  yet  done  it,  and  I  doubt  whether  he 
has  not  forgotten  the  substance  of  his  letter  which  probably  was 
no  more  than  an  acknowledgment  of  the  receipt  of  Dr.  Frank- 
lin's, and  a  promise  to  transmit  it  to  his  court.  If  he  had  writ- 
ten one  proposing  conferences,  it  could  never  have  got  safe  to 
Dr.  Franklin.  Be  this  as  it  will,  he  now  makes  advances,  and  I 
pray  you  to  write  me  your  sentiments  immediately  as  to  what  is 
best  to  be  done  on  our  part.  I  will  endeavor  to  evade  an  answer 
till  I  can  hear  from  you.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the 
highest  respect  and  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and 
most  humble  servant. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  January  12,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  had  just  closed  the  preceding  letter  when  M.  de 
BlumendorfF,  the  Imperial  Secretary  of  Legation,  called  on  me 
with  the  answer  of  Dr.  Franklin.  It  was  that  of  September  28, 
1784,  which  you  remember  as  well  as  myself,  wherein  Count 
Merci  informed  us  the  Emperor  was  disposed  to,  enter  into  com- 


512  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

mercial  arrangements  with  us,  and  that  he  would  give  orders  to 
the  government  of  the  Austrian  Netherlands  to  take  the  neces- 
sary measures.  I  observed  to  M.  de  Blumendorff  that  this  an- 
swer showed  the  next  step  was  to  come  from  them.  He  ac- 
knowledged it,  but  said  these  orders  having  been  for  the  Nether- 
lands only,  they  had  waited  in  expectation  of  others  for  compre- 
hending Hungary,  Bohemia,  and  the  Austrian  dominions  in  gen- 
eral, and  that  they  still  expect  such  instructions.  I  told  him, 
while  they  should  be  expecting  them,  I  would  write  to  you  on 
the  subject,  as  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  act  jointly  in  this  busi- 
ness. I  think  they  are  desirous  of  treating,  and  will  urge  it.  I 
shall  be  anxious,  therefore,  to  receive  your  sentiments  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  and  renew  the  assurances  of  the  esteem  with  which  I  am, 
dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    MARQUIS    DE    LA    ROUENE. 

PARIS,  January  12,  1786. 

SIR, — I  have  been  honored  with  your  letter  of  the  26th  of 
December,  on  the  subject  of  the  interest  due  to  the  foreign  offi- 
cers. An  express  instruction  of  Congress  having  subjected  their 
moneys  in  Europe  to  the  order  of  their  Board  of  Treasury  only, 
leaves  me  without  the  power  of  giving  the  order  you  desire. 
However,  wishing  to  do  whatever  was  possible  for  those  officers, 
I  went  to  Mr.  Grand's  to  consult  him  on  the  subject.  He  in- 
formed me  he  had  received  no  orders  to  make  the  payment, 
and,  moreover,  that  there  was  no  money,  had  he  received  an 
order.  I  have  therefore  written  to  Mr.  Adams  at  London,  to 
know  whether  there  is  any  money  in  Holland  subject  to  his 
order,  from  which  this  sum  could  be  supplied.  But,  in  truth,  I 
have  no  expectations  from  that  quarter,  and  only  tried  it  because 
there  was  a  possibility  of  aid  from  thence.  I  wrote,  however,  to 
Congress,  praying  their  immediate  and  effectual  interposition. 
From  this,  I  hope  better  effects.  But  it  will  be  three  months  at 
least  before  their  order  can  be  received.  So  soon  as  they  shall 


CORRESPONDENCE.  513 

be  known  to  me,  I  shall  certainly  make  it  my  duty  to  communi- 
cate them  to  you.  And  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  much 
respect,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    THE    GOVERNOR    OF    VIRGINIA. 

PARIS,  January  24,  1786. 

SIR, — I  have  been  honored  with  your  Excellency's  two  letters 
of  September  10th  and  that  of  October  14th,  1785.  The  former 
were  brought  me  by  Mr.  Houdon,  who  is  returned  with  the  ne- 
cessary moulds  and  measures  for  General  Washington's  statue. 
I  fear  the  expenses  of  his  journey  have  been  considerably  in- 
creased by  the  unlucky  accident  of  his  tools,  materials,  clothes, 
&c.,  not  arriving  at  Havre  in  time  to  go  with  him  to  America,  so 
that  he  had  to  supply  himself  there.  The  money  which  you 
were  so  kind  as  to  send  by  Captain  Littlepage  for  the  purpose  of 
this  statue,  he  found  himself  obliged  to  deposit  in  New  York,  to 
satisfy  a  demand  made  on  him  there.  This  was  a  debt  which 
he  owed  to  Mr.  Jay.  He  assures  me  that  in  a  settlement  with 
his  guardian,  the  latter  took  credit  for  this  debt,  so  as  to  be  an- 
swerable to  Mr.  Jay  for  it,  and  of  course  to  the  State,  now  that 
Mr.  Jay  is  paid  with  the  State's  money.  I  mention  this  circum- 
stance that  your  Excellency  may  be  enabled  to  take  the  earliest 
measures  for  recovering  this  money,  and  indemnifying  the  State. 
Mr.  Littlepage,  to  satisfy  me,  had  obtained  from  the  Marquis  de 
La  Fayette  his  engagement  to  stand  bound  as  Mr.  Littlepage's 
security  for  the  payment  of  this  money.  But  knowing  the 
punctuality  and  responsibility  of  his  guardian,  I  did  not  suppose 
a  security  necessary.  Besides,  if  a  loss  was  to  be  incurred,  I 
know  too  well  the  sentiments  of  the  State  of  Virginia  towards 
the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette  to  suppose  they  would  be  willing  to 
throw  the  loss  on  him.  I  therefore  acted  as  I  thought  your 
Excellency  and  the  Council  would  have  directed  me  to  act,  could 
you  have  been  consulted.  I  waited  on  the  Marquis,  arid  in  his 
VOL.  i.  33 


514  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

presence  cancelled  his  name  from  the  obligation  which  had  been 
given  me,  leaving  only  that  of  Mr.  Littlepage.  I  have  now  the 
honor  to  enclose  you  one  of  those  instruments,  duplicates  of  which 
had  been  given  me  by  Littlepage.  The  first  of  the  Marquis's 
Busts  will  be  finished  next  month.  I  shall  present  that  one  to 
the  city  of  Paris,  because  the  delay  has  been  noticed  by  some. 
I  hope  to  be  able  to  send  another  to  Virginia  in  the  course  of  the 
summer.  These  are  to  cost  three  thousand  livres  each.  The 
agreement  for  the  arms  has  been  at  length  concluded  by  Mr. 
Barclay.  He  was  so  much  better  acquainted  with  this  business 
than  the  Marquis  Fayette  or  myself,  that  we  left  it  altogether  to 
him.  We  were  sensible  that  they  might  have  been  gotten 
cheaper,  but  not  so  good.  However,  I  suppose  he  has  given  you 
the  details  of  his  proceedings,  so  as  to  render  them  unnecessary 
from  me.  It  will  be  eight  months  before  they  will  be  ready. 
The  cause  of  this,  too,  Mr.  Barclay  told  me  he  would  explain  to 
you.  It  is  principally  to  insure  their  goodness.  The  bills  remit- 
ted to  pay  for  them  have  been  honored,  and  the  money  is  lodged 
in  Mr.  Grand's  hands,  who  was  willing  to  allow  a  small  interest 
for  it. 

An  improvement  is  made  here  in  the  construction  of  the  mus- 
ket, which  may  be  worthy  of  attention.  It  consists  in  making 
every  part  of  them  so  exactly  alike,  that  every  part  of  any  one 
may  be  used  for  the  same  part  of  any  other  musket  made  by  the 
same  hand.  The  government  here  has  examined  and  approved 
the  method,  and  is  establishing  a  large  manufactory  for  the  pur- 
pose. As  yet  the  inventor  has  only  completed  the  lock  of  the 
musket  on  this  plan.  He  will  proceed  immediately  to  have  the 
barrel,  stock  and  their  parts  executed  in  the  same  way.  I  Visited 
the  workman.  He  presented  the  parts  of  fifty  locks,  taken  to 
pieces  and  arranged  in  compartments.  I  put  several  together 
myself,  taking  the  pieces  at  hazard  as  they  came  to  hand,  and 
found  them  fit  interchangeably  in  the  most  perfect  manner.  The 
tools  by  which  he  effects  this  have,  at  the  same  time,  so  abridged 
the  labor,  that  he  thinks  he  shall  be  able  to  furnish  the  musket 
two  livres  cheaper  than  the  King's  price.  But  it  will  be  two  or 


CORRESPONDENCE.  515 

three  years  before  he  will  able  to  furnish  any  quantity.  I  have 
duly  received  the  propositions  of  Messrs.  Ross,  Pleasants,  &c., 
for  furnishing  tobacco  to  the  Farmers  General ;  but  Mr.  Morris 
had,  in  the  meantime,  obtained  the  contract.  I  have  been  fully 
sensible  of  the  baneful  influence  on  the  commerce  of  France 
and  America,  which  this  double  monopoly  will  have.  I  have 
struck  at  its  root  here,  and  spared  no  pains  to  have  the  form  itself 
demolished,  but  it  has  been  in  vain.  The  persons  interested  in 
it  are  too  powerful  to  be  opposed,  even  by  the  interest  of  the 
whole  country.  I  mention  this  matter  in  confidence,  as  a  know- 
ledge of  it  might  injure  any  further  endeavors  to  attain  the  same 
object. 

Everything  is  quiet  here,  and  will  certainly  remain  so  another 
year.  Mr.  Barclay  left  Paris  a  few  days  ago,  and  will  be  absent 
from  France  for  some  time.  I  shall  spare  no  endeavors  to  fulfil 
the  several  objects  with  which  he  was  charged,  in  the  best  man- 
ner I  can. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    MR.    RITTENHOUSE. 

PARIS,  January  25,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  of  September  28th,  came  to  hand  a 
few  days  ago.  I  thank  you  for  the  details  on  the  subject  of  the 
southern  and  western  lines.  There  remains  thereon,  one  article, 
however,  which  I  will  still  beg  you  to  inform  me  of,  viz.,  how 
far  is  the  western  boundary  beyond  the  meridian  of  Pittsburg  ? 
This  information  is  necessary  to  enable  me  to  trace  that  boundary 
in  my  map.  I  shall  be  much  gratified,  also,  with  a  communica- 
tion of  your  observations  on  the  curiosities  of  the  western  coun- 
try. It  will  not  be  difficult  to  induce  me  to  give  up  the  theory 
of  the  growth  of  shells,  without  their  being  the  nidus  of  animals. 
It  is  only  an  idea,  and  not  an  opinion  with  me.  In  the  Notes 


516  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

with  which  I  troubled  you,  I  had  observed  that  there  were  three 
opinions  as  to  the  origin  of  these  shells.  1.  That  they  have 
been  deposited,  even  in  the  highest  mountains,  by  an  universal 
deluge.  2.  That  they,  with  all  the  calcareous  stones  and  earths, 
are  animal  remains.  3.  That  they  grow  or  shoot  as  crystals 
do.  I  find  that  I  could  swallow  the  last  opinion,  sooner  than 
either  of  the  others  ;  but  I  have  not  yet  swallowed  it.  Another 
opinion  might  have  been  added,  that  some  throe  of  nature  has 
forced  up  parts  which  had  been  the  bed  of  the  ocean.  But  have 
we  any  better  proof  of  such  an  effort  of  nature,  than  of  her 
shooting  a  lapidific  juice  into  the  form  of  a  shell  ?  No  such  con- 
vulsion has  taken  place  in  our  time,  nor  within  the  annals  of  his- 
tory ;  nor  is  the  distance  greater  between  the  shooting  of  the 
lapidific  juice  into  the  form  of  a  crystal  or  a  diamond,  which  we 
see,  and  into  the  form  of  a  shell,  which  we  do  not  see,  than  be- 
tween the  forcing  volcanic  matter  a  little  above  the  surface, 
where  it  is  in  fusion,  which  we  see,  and  the  forcing  the  bed  of 
the  sea  fifteen  thousand  feet  above  the  ordinary  surface  of  the 
earth,  which  we  do  not  see.  It  is  not  possible  to  believe  any  of 
these  hypotheses;  and, if  we  lean  towards  any  of  them,  it  should 
be  only  till  some  other  is  produced,  more  analogous  to  the 
known  operations  of  nature.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hopkinson,  I 
mentioned  to  him  that  the  Abbu  Rochori,  who  discovered  the 
double  refracting  power  in  some  of  the  natural  crystals,  had 
lately  made  a  telescope  with  the  metal  called  platina,  which, 
while  it  is  as  susceptible  of  as  perfect  a  polish  as  the  metal 
heretofore  used  for  the  specula  of  telescopes,  is  insusceptible  of 
rust,  as  gold  and  silver  are.  There  is  a  person  here,  who  has  hit 
on  a  new  method  of  engraving.  He  gives  you  an  ink  of  his 
composition.  Write  on  copper  plates  anything  of  which  you 
would  wish  to  take  several  copies,  and,  in  an  hour,  the  plate  will 
be  ready  to  strike  them  off ;  so  of  plans,  engravings,  &c.  This 
art  will  be  amusing  to  individuals,  if  he  should  make  it  known. 
I  send  you  herewith  the  nautical  almanacs  for  1786,  1787,  1788. 
1789,  1790,  which  are  as  late  as  they  are  published.  You  ask, 
how  you  may  reimburse  the  expense  of  these  trifles  ?  I  answer, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  517 

by  accepting  them  ;  as  the  procuring  you  a  gratification,  is  a 
higher  one  to  me  than  money.  We  have  had  nothing  curious 
published  lately.  I  do  not  know  whether  you  are  fond  of  chemi- 
cal reading.  There  are  some  things  in  this  science  worth  read- 
ing. I  will  send  them  to  you,  if  you  wish  it.  My  daughter  is 
veil,  and  joins  me  in  respects  to  Mrs.  Rittenhouse  and  the  young 
ladies.  After  asking  when  we  are  to  have  the  Lunarium,  I  will 
close  with  assurances  of  the  sincere  regard  and  esteem,  with 
which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    A.    STEWART,    ESQ. 

PARIS,  January  25,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  received  your  favor  of  the  17th  of  Octo- 
ber, which,  though  you  have  mentioned  it  as  the  third  you  have 
written  me,  is  the  first  that  has  come  to  hand.  I  sincerely  thank 
you  for  the  communication  it  contains.  Nothing  is  so  grateful 
to  me,  at  this  distance,  as  details,  both  great  and  small,  of  what 
is  passing  in  my  own  country.  Of  the  latter,  we  receive  little 
here,  because  they  either  escape  my  correspondents,  or  are 
thought  unworthy  of  notice.  This,  however,  is  a  very  mistaken 
opinion,  as  every  one  may  observe,  by  recollecting,  that  when  he 
has  been  long  absent  from  his  neighborhood,  the  small  news  of 
that  is  the  most  pleasing,  and  occupies  his  first  attention,  either 
when  he  meets  with  a  person  from  thence,  or  returns  thither 
himself.  I  still  hope,  therefore,  that  the  letter,  in  which  you 
have  been  so  good  as  to  give  me  the  minute  occurrences  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Monticello,  may  yet  come  to  hand,  and  I  ven- 
ture to  rely  on  the  many  proofs  of  friendship  I  have  received 
from  you,  for  a  continuance  of  your  favors.  This  will  be  the 
more  meritorious,  as  I  have  nothing  to  give  you  in  exchange. 

The  quiet  of  Europe,  at  this  moment,  furnishes  little  which 
can  attract  your  notice.  Nor  will  that  quiet  be  soon  disturbed, 
at  least  for  the  current  year.  Perhaps  it  hangs  on  the  life  of 


518  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

the  King  of  Prussia,  and  that  hangs  by  a  very  slender  thread. 
American  reputation  in  Europe  is  not  such  as  to  be  flattering  to 
its  citizens.  Two  circumstances  are  particularly  objected  to  us ; 
the  non-payment  of  our  debts,  and  the  want  of  energy  in  our 
government.  These  discourage  a  connection  with  us.  I  own 
it  to  be  my  opinion,  that  good  will  arise  from  the  destruction  of 
our  credit.  I  see  nothing  else  which  can  restrain  our  disposition 
to  luxury,  and  to  the  change  of  those  manners  which  alone  can 
preserve  republican  government.  As  it  is  impossible  to  prevent 
credit,  the  best  way  would  be  to  cure  its  ill  effects,  by  giving  an 
instantaneous  recovery  to  the  creditor.  This  would  be  reducing 
purchases  on  credit  to  purchases  for  ready  money.  A  man  would 
then  see  a  prison  painted  on  everything  he  wished,  but  had  not 
ready  money  to  pay  for. 

I  fear,  from  an  expression  in  your  letter,  that  the  people  of 
Kentucky  think  of  separating,  not  only  from  Virginia  (in  which 
they  are  right),  but  also  from  the  confederacy.  I  own,  I  should 
think  this  a  most  calamitous  event,  and  such  a  one  as  every  good 
citizen  should  set  himself  against.  Our  present  federal  limits  are 
not  too  large  for  good  government,  nor  will  the  increase  of  votes 
in  Congress  produce  any  ill  effect.  On  the  contrary,  it  will 
drown  the  little  divisions  at  present  existing  there.  Our  confed- 
eracy must  be  viewed  as  the  nest,  from  which  all  America,  North 
and  South,  is  to  be  peopled.  We  should  take  care,  too,  not  to 
think  it  for  the  interest  of  that  great  Continent  to  press  too  soon 
on  the  Spaniards.  Those  countries  cannot  be  in  better  hands. 
My  fear  is,  that  they  are  too  feeble  to  hold  them  till  our  popula- 
tion can  be  sufficiently  advanced  to  gain  it  from  them,  piece  by 
piece.  The  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  we  must  have.  This 
is  all  we  are,  as  yet,  ready  to  receive.  I  have  made  acquaint- 
ance with  a  very  sensible,  candid  gentleman  here,  who  was  in 
South  America  during  the  revolt  which  took  place  there,  while 
our  Revolution  was  going  on.  He  says,  that  those  disturbances 
(of  which  we  scarcely  heard  anything)  cost,  on  both  sides,  an 
hundred  thousand  lives. 

I  have  made  a  particular  acquaintance  here,  with  Monsieur  de 


CORRESPONDENCE.  519 

BufYon,  and  have  a  great  desire  to  give  him  the  best  idea  I  can 
of  our  elk.  Perhaps  your  situation  may  enable  you  to  aid  me  in 
this.  You  could  not  oblige  me  more  than  by  sending  me  the 
horns,  skeleton,  and  skin  of  an  elk,  were  it  possible  to  procure 
them.  The  most  desirable  form  of  receiving  them  would  be, 
to  have  the  skin  slit  from  the  under  jaw  along  the  belly  to  the 
tail,  and  down  the  thighs  to  the  knee,  to  take  the  animal  out, 
leaving  the  legs  and  hoofs,  the  bones  of  the  head,  and  the  horns 
attached  to  the  skin.  By  sewing  up  the  belly,  &c.,  and  stuffing 
the  skin,  it  would  present  the  form  of  the  animal.  However,  as 
an  opportunity  of  doing  this  is  scarcely  to  be  expected,  I  shall 
be  glad  to  receive  them  detached,  packed  in  a  box,  and  sent  to 
Richmond,  to  the  care  of  Dr.  Currie.  Everything  of  this  kind 
is  precious  here.  And  to  prevent  my  adding  to  your  trouble,  I 
must  close  my  letter,  with  assurances  of  the  esteem  and  attach- 
ment with  which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    THE    COMMISSIONERS  OF    THE    TREASURY. 

PARIS,  January  26,  1786. 

GENTLEMEN, — I  have  been  duly  honored  by  the  receipt  of  your 
letter  of  December  the  6th,  and  am  to  thank  you  for  the  commu- 
nications it  contained  on  the  state  of  our  funds  and  expectations 
here.  Your  idea,  that  these  communications,  occasionally,  may 
be  useful  to  the  United  States,  is  certainly  just,  as  I  am  frequently 
obliged  to  explain  our  prospects  of  paying  interest,  &c.,  which  I 
should  better  do  with  fuller  information.  If  you  would  be  so 
good  as  to  instruct  Mr.  Grand  always  to  furnish  me  with  a  du- 
plicate of  those  cash  accounts  which  he  furnishes  to  you,  from 
time  to  time,  and  if  you  would  be  so  good  as  to  direct  your  sec- 
retary to  send  me  copies  of  such  letters  as  you  transmit  to  Mr. 
Grand,  advising  him  of  the  remittances  he  may  expect,  from 
time  to  time,  I  should,  thereby,  be  always  informed  of  the  sum 
of  money  on  hand  here,  and  the  probable  expectations  of  sup- 


520  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

ply.  Dr.  Franklin,  during  his  residence  here,  having  been  au- 
thorized to  borrow  large  sums  of  money,  the  disposal  of  that 
money  seemed  naturally  to  rest  with  him.  It  was  Mr.  Grand's 
practice,  therefore,  never  to  pay  money,  but  on  his  warrant.  On 
his  departure,  Mr.  Grand  sent  all  money  drafts  to  me,  to  author- 
ize their  payment.  I  informed  him,  that  this  was  in  no  wise 
within  my  province,  that  I  was  unqualified  to  direct  him  in  it, 
and, that  were  I  to  presume  to  meddle,  it  would  be  no  additional 
sanction  to  him.  He  refused,  however,  to  pay  a  shilling  with- 
out my  order.  I  have  been  obliged,  therefore,  to  a  nugatory  in- 
terference, merely  to  prevent  the  affairs  of  the  United  States 
from  standing  still.  I  need  not  represent  to  you  the  impropriety 
of  my  continuing  to  direct  Mr.  Grand  longer  than  till  we  can 
receive  your  orders,  the  mischief  which  might  ensue  from  the 
uncertainty  in  which  this  would  place  you  as  to  the  extent  to 
which  you  might  venture  to  draw  on  your  funds  here,  and  the 
little  necessity  there  is  for  my  interference.  Whenever  you  order 
a,  sum  of  money  into  Mr.  Grand's  hands,  nothing  will  be  more 
natural  than  your  instructing  him  how  to  apply  it,  so  as  that  he 
?hall  observe  your  instructions  alone.  Among  these,  you  would 
doubtless  judge  it  necessary  to  give  him  one  standing  instruc- 
tion, to  answer  my  drafts  for  such  sums  as  my  office  authorizes 
me  to  call  for.  These  would  be  salary,  couriers,  postage,  and 
such  other  articles  as  circumstances  will  require,  which  cannot 
be  previously  defined.  These  will  never  be  so  considerable  as 
to  endanger  the  honor  of  your  drafts  ;  I  shall  certainly  exercise 
in  them  the  greatest  caution,  and  stand  responsible  to  Congress. 

Mr.  Grand  conceives  that  he  has  suffered  in  your  opinion  by 
an  application  of  two  hundred  thousand  livres,  during  the  last 
year,  differently  from  what  the  office  of  finance  had  instructed 
him.  This  was  a  consequence  of  his  being  thought  subject  to 
direction  here,  and  it  is  but  justice  to  relieve  him  from  blame  on 
that  account,  and  to  show  that  it  ought  to  fall,  if  anywhere,  on 
Dr.  Franklin,  Mr.  Adams,  and  myself.  The  caso  was  thus : 
The  moneys  here  were,  exhausted,  Mr.  Grand  was  in  advance 
about  fifty  thousand  livres,  and  the  diplomatic  establishments  in 


CORRESPONDENCE.  521 

France,  Spain,  and  Holland,  subsisting  on  his  bounties,  which 
they  were  subject  to  see  stopped  every  moment,  and  feared  a 
protest  on  every  bill.  Other  current  expenses,  too,  were  depend- 
ing on  advances  from  him,  and  though  these  were  small  in  their 
amount,  they  sometimes  involved  great  consequences.  In  this 
situation,  he  received  four  hundred  thousand  livres,  to  be  paid  to 
this  government  for  one  year's  interest.  We  thought  the  honor 
of  the  United  States  would  suffer  less  by  suspending  half  the 
payment  to  this  government,  replacing  Mr.  Grand's  advances,  and 
providing  a  fund  for  current  expenses.  We  advised  him  so  to 
do.  I  still  think  it  was  for  the  best,  and  I  believe  my  colleagues 
have  continued  to  see  the  matter  in  the  same  point  of  view. 
We  may  have  been  biassed  by  the  feelings  excited  by  our  own 
distressing  situation.  But  certainly,  as  to  Mr.  Grand,  no  blame 
belongs  to  him.  We  explained  this  matter  in  a  letter  to  Con- 
gress, at  the  time,  arid  justice  requires  this  explanation  to  you, 
as  I  conjecture  that  the  former  one  has  not  come  to  your  knowl- 
edge. 

The  two  hundred  thousand  livres  retained,  as  before  mention- 
ed, have  been  applied  to  the  purposes  described,  to  the  payment 
of  a  year's  interest  to  the  French  officers  (which  is  about  forty- 
two  thousand  livres),  and  other  current  expenses,  which,  doubt- 
less, Mr.  Grand  has  explained  to  you.  About  a  week  ago,  there 
remained  in  his  hands  but  about  twelve  thousand  livres.  In 
this  situation,  the  demands  of  the  French  officers  for  a  second 
year's  interest,  were  presented.  But  Mr.  Grand  observed  there 
were  neither  money  nor  orders  for  them.  The  payment  of  these 
gentlemen,  the  last  year,  had  the  happiest  effect  imaginable.  It 
procured  so  many  advocates  for  the  credit  and  honor  of  the 
United  States,  who  were  heard  in  all  companies.  It  corrected 
the  idea  that  we  were  unwilling  to  pay  our  debts.  I  fear  that 
our  present  failure  towards  them  will  give  new  birth  to  new  im- 
putations, and  a  relapse  of  credit.  Under  this  fear,  I  have  writ- 
ten to  Mr.  Adams  to  know  whether  he  can  have  this  money 
supplied  from  the  funds  in  Holland  ;  though  I  have  little  hope 
from  that  quarter,  because  he  had  before  informed  me,  that  those 


522  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

funds  would  be  exhausted  by  the  spring  of  the  present  year,  and 
I  doubt,  too,  whether  he  would  venture  to  order  these  payments, 
without  authority  from  you.  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  state 
these  matters  to  you. 

I  have  had  the  honor  of  enclosing  to  Mr.  Jay,  Commodore 
Jones's  receipts  for  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  thousand  and 
thirty-nine  livres,  one  sol  and  ten  deniers,  prize  money,  which 
(after  deducing  his  own  proportion)  he  is  to  remit  to  you,  for  the 
officers  and  soldiers  who  were  under  his  command.  I  take  the 
liberty  of  suggesting,  whether  the  expense  and  risk  of  double 
remittances  might  not  be  saved,  by  ordering  it  into  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Grand,  immediately,  for  the  purposes  of  the  treasury  in  Eu- 
rope, while  you  could  make  provision  at  home  for  the  officers 
and  soldiers,  whose  demands  will  come  in  so  slowly,  as  to  leave 
the  use  of  a  great  proportion  of  this  money,  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  some  of  it  forever.  We  could,  then,  immediately 
quiet  the  French  officers. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  perfect  respect  and 
esteem,  Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  ser- 
vant. 


TO    JOHN    JAY. 

January  27th,  1786. 

SIR, — I  had  the  honor  of  addressing  you  by  the  way  of  Lon- 
don on  the  2d  instant.  Since  that,  yours  of  December  7th,  has 
come  to  hand.  I  have  now  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  Mr. 
Barclay  having  settled,  as  far  as  depended  on  him,  the  account  of 
Monsieur  de  Beaumarchais,  left  Paris  on  the  13th  instant,  to  pro- 
ceed to  Morocco.  Business  obliged  him  to  go  by  the  way  of 
L'Orient  and  Bourdeax,  but  he  told  me  he  should  not  be  detained 
more  than  one  day  at  either  place.  We  may  probably  allow  him 
to  the  last  of  February  to  be  at  Morocco. 

The  imperial  ambassador  some  days  ago  observed  to  me,  that 
about  eighteen  months  ago  Dr.  Franklin  had  written  to  him  a 


CORRESPONDENCE.  523 

letter  proposing  a  treaty  of  commerce  between  the  Emperor  and 
the  United  States ;  that  he  had  communicated  it  to  the  Emperor, 
and  had  answered  to  Dr.  Franklin,  that  they  were  ready  to  enter 
into  an  agreement  for  that  purpose,  but  that  he  had  received  no 
reply  from  him.  I  told  him  I  had  been  informed  by  Dr.  Frank- 
lin of  the  letter  making  the  proposition,  but  that  this  was  the  first 
I  had  ever  hear  of  an  answer  expressing  their  readiness  to  enter 
into  negotiations.  That  on  the  contrary,  we  had  supposed  no 
definitive  answer  had  been  given ;  and  that,  of  course,  the  next 
move  was  on  their  side.  He  expressed  astonishment  at  this,  and 
seemed  so  conscious  of  having  written  such  an  answer,  that  he 
said  he  would  have  it  sought  for  and  send  it  to  me  for  my  inspec- 
tion. However,  he  observed  that  the  delay,  having  proceeded 
from  the  expectation  of  each  party  that  the  other  was  to  make 
the  next  advance,  and  the  matter  being  understood,  the  two 
parties  might  now  proceed  to  enter  into  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments. I  told  him  that  Congress  had  been  desirous  of  entering 
into  connections  of  amity  and  commerce  with  his  Imperial  Ma- 
jesty ;  that  for  this  purpose  they  had  commissioned  Mr.  Adams, 
Dr.  Franklin  and  myself,  or  any  two  of  us,  to  treat ;  that  reasons 
of  prudence  had  obliged  them  to  affix  some  term  to  our  commis- 
sions, and  that  two  years  were  the  term  assigned  ;  that  the  delay, 
therefore,  which  had  happened,  was  the  more  unlucky,  as  these 
two  years  would  expire  in  the  ensuing  spring.  He  said  he  sup- 
posed Congress  could  have  no  objection  to  renew  our  powers,  or 
perhaps  to  appoint  some  person  to  treat  at  Brussels.  I  told  him 
I  was  unable  to  answer  that,  and  we  omitted  further  communi- 
cation on  the  subject  till  he  should  send  me  his  letter  written  to 
Dr.  Franklin.  A  few  days  after  his  Secretaire,  d'Ambassade 
called  on  me  with  it.  It  was  the  letter  of  September  28,  1784, 
(transmitted  in  due  time  to  Congress,)  wherein  he  had  informed 
Dr.  Franklin  that  the  Emperor  was  disposed  to  enter  into  com- 
mercial arrangements  with  us,  and  that  he  would  give  orders  to 
the  government  of  the  Netherlands  to  take  the  necessary  meas- 
ures. I  observed  to  Monsieur  de  BlumendorfF  (the  secretary),  that 
this  letter  showed  we  were  right  in  our  expectations  of  their  taking 


524  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

the  next  step.  He  seemed  sensible  of  it,  said  that  the  quarrel  with 
Holland  had  engrossed  the  attention  of  government,  and  that  these 
orders  relating  to  the  Netherlands  only,  it  had  been  expected 
that  others  had  been  given  which  should  include  Hungary,  Bo- 
hemia and  the  Austrian  dominions  in  general,  and  that  they  still 
expected  such  orders.  I  told  him  that  while  they  should  be  at- 
tending them,  I  would  write  to  Mr.  Adams  in  London,  my  col- 
league in  this  business,  in  concert  with  whom  I  must  move  in  it. 
I  think  they  are  desirous  of  treating,  and  from  questions  asked 
me  by  Monsieur  de  Blumendorff,  I  suspect  they  have  been  led  to 
that  decision,  either  by  the  resolutions  of  Congress  of  April  1784, 
asking  powers  from  the  States  to  impose  restraints  on  the  com- 
merce of  States  not  connected  with  us  by  treaty,  or  else  by  an 
act  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  for  giving  such  powers  to 
Congress,  which  has  appeared  in  the  European  papers.  In  the 
meantime,  I  own  myself  at  a  loss  what  to  do.  Our  instructions 
are  clearly  to  treat.  But  these  made  a  part  of  a  system  wise  and 
advantageous,  if  executed  in  all  its  parts,  but  which  has  hitherto 
failed  in  its  most  material  branch, — that  of  connection  with  the 
powers  having  American  territory.  Should  these  continue  to 
stand  aloof,  it  may  be  necessary  for  the  United  States  to  enter 
into  commercial  regulations  of  a  defensive  nature.  These  may 
be  embraced  by  treaties  with  the  powers  having  no  American 
territory,  and  who  are  most  of  them  as  little  commercial  as  per- 
haps not  to  offer  advantages  which  may  countervail  these  embar- 
rassments. In  case  of  war,  indeed,  these  treaties  will  become  of 
value,  and  even  during  peace  the  respectability  of  the  Emperor, 
who  stands  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  two  parties  which  seem  at 
present  to  divide  Europe,  was  a  lustre  to  those  connected  with 
him — a  circumstance  not  to  be  absolutely  neglected  by  us  under 

the  actual  situation  of  things. a  letter  from  Mr.  Adams 

on  this  subject.  Not  trusting  the  posts,  however,  and  obliged 
to  wait  private  conveyances,  our  intercommunication  is  slow,  and 
in  the  meanwhile  our  time  shortening  fast.  I  have  the  honor  to 
enclose  to  you  a  letter  from  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  in  favor  or 
Mr.  Dumas.  With  the  services  of  this  gentleman  to  the  United 


CORRESPONDENCE.  525 

States,  yourself  and  Dr.  Franklin  are  better  acquainted  than  I 
am.  Those  he  has  been  able  to  render  towards  effecting  the  late 
alliance  between  France  and  the  United  Netherlands,  are  the 
probable  ground  of  the  present  application.  The  minister  for 
Geneva  has  desired  me  to  have  enquiries  made  after  the  Mr.  Gal- 
latin,  named  in  the  within  paper.  I  will  pray  you  to  have  the 
necessary  advertisements  inserted  in  the  papers,  and  to  be  so  good 
as  to  favor  me  with  the  result.  1  enclose  the  Gazettes  of  France 
and  Leyden  to  this  date,  and  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most 
perfect  respect  and  esteem,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most 
humble  servant. 


TO    DR.    FRANKLIN. 

PARIS,  January  27tb,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  had  the  honor  of  writing  to  you  on  the  5th  of 
October,  and  since  that  have  received  yours  of  the  1st  of  the  same 
month.  We  were  highly  pleased  here  with  the  health  you  en- 
joyed on  your  voyage,  and  with  the  reception  you  met  with  at 
home.  This  was  no  more  than  I  expected.  Had  I  had  a  vote 
for  the  Presidentship,  however,  I  doubt  whether  I  should  riot  have 
withheld  it  from  you  that  you  might  have  leisure  to  collect  and 
digest  the  papers  you  have  \vritten  from  time  to  time,  and  which 
the  world  will  expect  to  be  given  them.  This  side  of  the  globe 
is  in  a  state  of  absolute  quiet,  both  political  and  literary.  Not  a 
sheet,  I  think,  has  come  out  since  your  departure,  which  is  worth 
notice.  I  do  not  know  whether  before  that  the  Abbu  Rochon 
had  thought  of  using  the  metal  Platina  for  the  specula  telescope. 
Indeed,  I  believe  the  thought  is  not  his  originally,  but  has  been 
carried  into  execution  before  by  the  Spaniards.  It  is  thought 
to  take  as  high  a  polish  as  the  metallic  composition  generally  used, 
and  is  not  liable  to  rust.  Hoffman's  method  of  engraving  with 
ink  was,  I  believe,  known  to  you.  I  sent  the  other  day  to  Pan- 
couche's,  by  Mr.  Hopkinson's  desire,  to  get  the  livraisons  of  the 
Encyclopedic  which  had  not  yet  been  taken  out  for  him,  and  in- 


526  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

formed  Pancouche  that  the  subscription  had  been  made  by  you. 
He  sent  me  word  two  copies  were  subscribed  for  in  your 
name,  and  at  the  same  time  sent  both  of  them  to  me.  Suppos- 
ing that  the  other  may  be  your  own,  and  that  you  had  not  made 
arrangements  for  having  it  sent  you,  I  received  it,  and  forwarded 
it  in  the  same  box  with  Mr.  Hopkinson's.  If  you  have  no  better 
means  of  getting  them  in  future,  I  oifer  my  services  very  cheerfully 
to  forward  them  from  time  to  time.  What  I  have  paid  for  these 
(71  livres  10  sous),  or  may  hereafter  pay  for  others,  you  can  be  so 
good  as  to  replace  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Hopkinson.  If  there  should 
be  any  other  commissions  to  be  executed  here  for  you,  I  should 
take  real  pleasure  in  being  useful  to  you.  Your  friends  here  are 
all  well  I  think,  and  make  you  much  the  subject  of  their  con- 
versation. I  will  trouble  you  to  present  my  esteem  to  young  Mr. 
Franklin,  and  add  assurances  of  the  real  respect  and  regard  with 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and 
most  humble  servant. 


TO    COLONEL    MONROE. 

PARIS,  January  27,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  you  on  the  llth  of  December,  and  on  the 
llth  of  this  month  I  received  your  favor  of  July  15th,  entrusted 
to  Mrs.  McCaulay  Graham.  I  do  not  know  from  what  place  she 
sent  it.  The  last  papers  from  America  present  us  a  very  dis- 
agreeable altercation  between  Mr.  Jay,  and  a  young  man  from 
whom  he  had  deserved  better  things.  Mr.  Carmichael  will,  I 
fear,  too,  think  himself  involved.  With  him  I  am  unacquainted 
personally,  but  he  stands  on  advantageous  grounds  in  the  opin- 
ion of  Europe,  and  most  especially  in  Spain.  Every  person, 
whom  I  see  from  thence,  speaks  of  him  with  great  esteem.  I 
mention  this  for  your  private  satisfaction,  as  he  seemed  to  be 
little  known  in  Congress.  Mr.  Jay,  however,  knows  him  well, 
and,  notwithstanding  their  little  broulerie,  his  candor  will  do  him 
justice.  Dumas  is  a  great  favorite  both  of  Holland  and  France. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  527 

You  will  be  sensible  of  this  from  the  application  which  is  com- 
municated to  Mr.  Jay  from  the  Count  de  Vergennes.  Mr.  Van 
Bukel  had  solicited  for  him  before  I  came  from  America.  This 
is  a  delicate  matter,  the  more  so  as  I  believe  Congress  had  set 
the  example  by  a  letter  to  the  King  last  year.  True  there  is  no 
comparison  between  the  characters  solicited  for.  The  death  of 
Mr.  Hardy  was  matter  of  sincere  concern  to  us.  He  had  excel- 
lent virtues,  and  only  one  foible,  that  of  being  too  good-humored. 
This  intelligence  was  written  to  me  from  London  by  Colonel 
Humphreys,  who  went  there  in  November  last.  There  being 
nothing  going  on  here  under  the  commissions,  to  which  he  is 
Secretary,  and  some  little  matter  there,  he  will  probably  stay 
there  some  while  yet,  or  perhaps  divide  his  time  between  that 
place  and  this.  I  send  by  this  packet  drawings  for  the  Capitol 
and  prison  at  Richmond.  They  are  addressed  to  the  Directors 
of  the  public  buildings.  If  you  have  a  curiosity  to  see  them, 
open  the  round  package  which  goes  herewith,  only  be  so  good 
as  to  do  them  up  again  in  the  same  way,  and  send  them  off  by 
the  first  post.  I  think  they  will  be  a  gratification  to  yourself 
and  such  members  as  like  things  of  that  kind.  You  see  by  my 
writing  to  you  of  American  persons  and  things,  that  I  have  no- 
thing for  you  from  this  quarter.  Europe  enjoys  the  most  per- 
fect repose,  and  will  do  so  at  least  for  another  year.  I  have 
been  in  expectation  of  receiving  instructions  from  you  as  to  your 
Encyclopaedic.  But  none  being  come,  I  will  endeavor  to  send 
it  to  you  by  this  conveyance,  if  it  can  be  got  to  1'Orient  in  time 
for  the  packet.  The  re-establishment  of  these  vessels  is  still 
doubtful ;  and  till  they  be  re-established  my  correspondence  will 
^je  very  irregular.  I  have  only  to  add  assurances  of  the  sincere 
esteem  with  which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 

P.  S.  If  I  should  be  able  to  send  on  your  copy  of  the  Ency- 
clopaedic, it  will  be  accompanied  by  one  for  Dr.  Came,  which  I 
will  pray  you  to  forward  to  Richmond  by  land  or  water  as  you 
see  best. 


528  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO    W.    F.    DUMAS. 

PARIS,  February  2,  17SG. 

SIR, — I  was  honored  some  time  ago  with  a  letter  from  you  of 
December  6th,  enclosing  two  for  America,  which  I  forwarded 
by  the  first  occasion.  On  the  18th  of  this  month,  I  received  a 
letter  from  his  Excellency  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  expressing 
the  interest  which  he  takes  in  your  welfare,  and  recommending 
you  to  Congress.  This  I  had  an  opportunity  of  forwarding  from 
hence  on  the  27th  of  January,  under  cover  to  Mr.  Jay.  Yester- 
day I  was  gratified  with  the  receipt  of  your  favor  of  January 
27th,  containing  a  copy  of  the  resolution  of  Congress  of  October 
24th,  in  your  favor,  and  which  I  wish  had  been  more  so.  With 
respect  to  the  payment  of  the  arrearages,  two  things  are  neces- 
sary :  first,  an  order  from  the  Treasury,  and  secondly,  money  to 
comply  with  it.  Mr.  Grand  wrote  me  this  morning  that  he  had 
not  now  as  much  left  as  to  pay  a  bill  of  Mr.  Carmichael's  for 
4300  livres  just  presented.  I  shall  forward  your  letter  to  Mr. 
Jay  the  next  week,  with  a  request  that  the  necessary  measures 
may  be  taken  for  the  payment  of  your  arrearages  and  interest. 
In  the  meantime,  I  think  you  would  do  well  to  write  a  line  foi 
the  same  purpose  to  Mr.  Jay,  or  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Treasury.  I  do  not  mean  that  what  I  have  said  above  should 
prevent  your  drawing  in  due  time  for  the  salary  of  the  current 
quarter.  I  will  honor  the  draught  from  a  private  fund  with 
which  I  can  take  that  liberty.  I  thank  you  for  what  you  say 
of  the  notes  on  Virginia.  It  is  much  more  than  they  deserve. 
Though  the  various  matters  they  touch  on  would  have  been  be- 
yond the  information  of  any  one  person  whatever  to  have 
treated  fully,  and  infinitely  beyond  mine,  yet  had  I  at  the  time 
of  writing  them,  had  anything  more  in  view  than  the  satisfying 
a  single  individual,  they  should  have  been  more  attended  to  both 
in  form  and  matter.  Poor  as  they  are,  they  have  been  thought 
worthy  of  a  surreptitious  translation  here,  with  the  appearance 
of  which  very  soon  I  have  been  threatened.  This  has  induced 
me  to  yield  to  a  friendly  proposition  from  the  Abbe  Morellet, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  529 

to  translate  and  publish  them  himself,  submitting  the  sheets  pre- 
viously to  my  inspection.  As  a  translation  by  so  able  a  hand 
will  lessen  the  faults  of  the  original,  instead  of  their  being  mul- 
tiplied by  a  hireling  translator.  I  shall  add  to  it  a  map  and  such 
other  advantages  as  may  prevent  the  mortification  of  my  seeing 
it  appear  in  the  injurious  form  threatened.  I  shall  with  great 
pleasure  send  a  copy  of  the  original  to  you  by  the  first  opportu- 
nity, praying  your  acceptance  of  it. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be   with  great  esteem  and  respect,  Sir. 
your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  February  7,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  am  honored  with  yours  of  January  the  19th. 
Mine  of  January  the  12th,  had  not,  I  suppose,  at  that  time  got  to 
your  hands,  as  the  receipt  of  it  is  unacknowledged.  I  shall  be 
anxious  till  I  receive  your  answer  to  it. 

I  was  perfectly  satisfied  before  I  received  your  letter,  that  your 
opinion  had  been  misunderstood  or  misrepresented  in  the  case  of 
the  Chevalier  de  Mezieres.  Your  letter,  however,  will  enable  me 
to  say  so  with  authority.  It  is  proper  it  should  be  known,  that 
you  had  not  given  the  opinion  imputed  to  you,  though,  as  to  the 
main  question,  it  is  become  useless ;  Monsieur  de  Reyneval  hav- 
ing assured  me,  that  what  I  had  written  on  that  subject  had  per- 
fectly satisfied  the  Count  de  Vergennes  and  himself,  that  this  case 
could  never  come  under  the  treaty.  To  evince,  still  further,  the 
impropriety  of  taking  up  subjects  gravely,  on  such  imperfect  in- 
formation as  this  court  had,  I  have  this  moment  received  a  copy 
of  an  act  of  the  Georgia  Assembly,  placing  the  subjects  of  France, 
as  to  real  estates,  on  the  footing  of  natural  citizens,  and  expressly 
recognizing  the  treaty.  Would  you  think  anything  could  be 
added,  after  this,  to  put  this  question  still  further  out  of  doors  ? 
A  gentleman  of  Georgia  assured  me,  General  Oglethorpe  did  not 

VOL.  i.  34 


530  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

own  a  foot  of  land  in  the  State.  I  do  not  know  whether  there 
\as  been  any  American  determination  on  the  question,  whether 
American  citizens  and  British  subjects,  born  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, can  be  aliens  to  one  another  ?  I  know  there  is  an  opinion 
of  Lord  Coke's,  in  Colvin's  case,  that  if  England  and  Scotland 
should,  in  the  course  of  descent,  pass  to  separate  Kings,  those 
born  under  the  same  sovereign  during  the  union,  would  remain 
natural  subjects  and  not  aliens.  Common  sense  urges  some  con- 
siderations against  this.  Natural  subjects  owe  allegiance ;  but 
we  owe  none.  Aliens  are  the  subjects  of  a  foreign  power ;  we 
are  not  subjects  of  a  foreign  power.  The  King,  by  the  treaty,  ac- 
knowledges our  independence  ;  how,  then,  can  we  remain  natural 
subjects  ?  The  King's  power  is,  by  the  constitution,  competent  to 
the  making  peace,  war  and  treaties.  He  had,  therefore,  author- 
ity to  relinquish  our  allegiance  by  treaty.  But  if  an  act  of  par- 
liament had  been  necessary,  the  parliament  passed  an  act  to  con- 
firm the  treaty.  So  that  it  appears  to  me,  that  in  this  question, 
fictions  of  law  alone  are  opposed  to  sound  sense. 

I  am  in  hopes  Congress  will  send  a  minister  to  Lisbon.  I  know 
no  country  with  which  we  are  likely  to  cultivate  a  more  useful 
commerce.  I  have  pressed  this  in  my  private  letters. 

It  is  difficult  to  learn  anything  certain  here,  about  the  French 
and  English  treaty.  Yet,  in  general,  little  is  expected  to  be  done 
between  them.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  the  Delegates  of  Virginia 
had  made  the  vote  relative  to  English  commerce,  though  they 
afterwards  repealed  it.  I  hope  they  will  come  to  it  again.  When 
my  last  letters  came  away,  they  were  engaged  in  passing  the  re- 
visal  of  their  laws,  with  some  small  alterations.  The  bearer  of 
this,  Mr.  Lyons  is  a  sensible,  worthy  young  physician,  son  of 
one  of  our  judges,  and  on  his  return  to  Virginia.  Remember  me 
with  affection  to  Mrs.  and  Miss  Adams,  Colonels  Smith  and 
Humphreys,  and  be  assured  of  the  esteem  with  which  I  am,  dear 
Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  531 


TO    JAMES    MADISON. 


PARIS,  February  8,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — My  last  letters  were  of  the  1st  and  20th  of  Sep- 
tember, and  the  28th  of  October.  Yours,  unacknowledged,  are  of 
August  the  20th,  October  the  3d,  and  November  the  15th.  I 
take  this,  the  first  safe  opportunity,  of  enclosing  to  you  the  bills 
of  lading  for  your  books,  and  two  others  for  your  namesake  of 
Williamsburg,  and  for  the  attorney,  which  I  will  pray  you  to 
forward.  I  thank  you  for  the  communication  of  the  remon- 
strance against  the  assessment.  Mazzei,  who  is  now  in  Holland, 
promised  me  to  have  it  published  in  the  Leyden  gazette.  It  will 
do  us  great  honor.  I  wish  it  may  be  as  much  approved  by  our 
Assembly,  as  by  the  wisest  part  of  Europe.  I  have  heard,  with 
great  pleasure,  that  our  Assembly  have  come  to  the  resolution 
of  giving  the  regulation  of  their  commerce  to  the  federal  head. 
I  will  venture  to  assert,  that  there  is  not  one  of  its  opposers,  who, 
placed  on  this  ground,  would  not  see  the  wisdom  of  this  measure. 
The  politics  of  Europe  render  it  indispensably  necessary  that, 
with  respect  to  everything  external,  we  be  one  nation  only, 
firmly  hooped  together.  Interior  government  is  what  each  State 
should  keep  to  itself.  If  it  were  seen  in  Europe  that  all  our  States 
could  be  brought  to  concur  in  what  the  Virginia  Assembly  has 
done,  it  would  produce  a  total  revolution  in  their  opinion  of  us, 
and  respect  for  us.  And  it  should  ever  be  held  in  mind,  that  in- 
sult and  war  are  the  consequences  of  a  want  of  respectability  in 
the  national  character.  As  long  as  the  States  exercise,  separate- 
ly, those  acts  of  power  which  respect  foreign  nations,  so  long 
will  there  continue  to  be  irregularities  committed  by  some  one  or 
other  of  them,  which  will  constantly  keep  us  on  an  ill  footing 
with  foreign  nations. 

I  thank  you  for  your  information  as  to  my  Notes.  The  copies 
I  have  remaining  shall  be  sent  over,  to  be  given  to  some  of  my 
friends,  and  to  select  subjects  in  the  College.  I  have  been  un- 
fortunate here  with  this  trifle.  I  gave  out  a  few  copies  only, 
ind  to  confidential  persons,  writing  in  every  copy  a  restraint 


532  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

against  its  publication.  Among  others,  I  gave  a  copy  to  a  Mr. 
Williams ;  he  died.  I  immediately  took  every  precaution  I  could, 
to  recover  this  copy.  Bat,  by  some  means  or  other,  a  bookseller 
had  got  hold  of  it.  He  employed  a  hireling  translator,  and  is 
about  publishing  it  in  the  most  injurious  form  possible.  I  am 
now  at  a  loss  what  to  do  as  to  England.  Everything,  good  or 
bad,  is  thought  worth  publishing  there ;  and  I  apprehend  a  trans- 
lation back  from  the  French,  and  a  publication  here.  I  rather 
believe  it  will  be  most  eligible  to  let  the  original  come  out  in  that 
country ;  but  am  not  yet  decided. 

I  have  purchased  little  for  you  in  the  book  way,  since  I  sent 
the  catalogue  of  my  former  purchases.  I  wish,  first,  to  have 
your  answer  to  that,  and  your  information,  what  parts  of  these 
purchases  went  out  of  your  plan.  You  can  easily  say,  buy  more 
of  this  kind,  less  of  that,  &c.  My  wish  is  to  conform  myself  to 
yours.  I  can  get  for  you  the  original  Paris  edition  of  the  En- 
cyclopedic, in  thirty-five  volumes,  folio,  for  six  hundred  and 
twenty  livres;  a  good  edition,  in  thirty-nine  volumes,  4to,  for 
three  hundred  and  eighty  livres ;  and  a  good  one,  in  thirty-nine 
volumes,  8vo,  for  two  hundred  and  eighty  livres.  The  new  one 
will  be  superior  in  far  the  greater  number  of  articles ;  but  not  in 
all.  And  the  possession  of  the  ancient  one  has,  moreover,  the 
advantage  of  supplying  present  use.  I  have  bought  one  for  my- 
self, but  wait  your  orders  as  to  you.  I  remember  your  purchase 
of  a  watch  in  Philadelphia.  If  it  should  not  have  proved  good, 
you  can  probably  sell  it.  In  that  case,  I  can  get  for  you,  here, 
one  made  as  perfect  as  human  art  can  make  it,  for  about  twenty- 
four  louis.  I  have  had  such  a  one  made  by  the  best  and  most 
faithful  hand  in  Paris.  It  has  a  second  hand,  but  no  repeating, 
no  day  of  the  month,  nor  other  useless  thing  to  impede  and  in- 
jure the  movements  which  are  necessary.  For  twelve  louis  more, 
you  can  have  in  the  same  cover,  but  on  the  back,  and  absolutely 
unconnected  with  the  movements  of  the  watch,  a  pedometer, 
which  shall  render  you  an  exact  account  of  the  distances  you 
walk.  Your  pleasure  hereon  shall  be  awaited. 

Houdon  has  returned.     He  called  on  me,  the  other  day,  to  re- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  533 

monstrate  against  the  inscription  proposed  for  General  Washing- 
ton's statue.  He  says  it  is  too  long  to  be  put  on  the  pedestal.  I 
told  him  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  permit  any  alteration,  but  I 
would  represent  his  objection  to  a  friend,  who  could  judge  of  its 
validity,  and  whether  a  change  could  be  authorized.  This  has 
been  the  subject  of  conversations  here,  and  various  devices  and 
inscriptions  have  been  suggested.  The  one  which  has  appeared 
best  to  me  may  be  translated  as  follows:  "  Behold,  Reader,  the 
form  of  George  Washington.  For  his  worth,  ask  History ;  that 
will  tell  it,  when  this  stone  shall  have  yielded  to  the  decays  of 
time.  His  country  erects  this  monument :  Houdon  makes  it." 
This  for  one  side.  On  the  second,  represent  the  evacuation  of 
Boston,  with  the  motto,  "  Hostibus  primum  fugatis."  On  the 
third,  the  capture  of  the  Hessians,  with  "  Hostibus  iterum  devic- 
tis."  On  the  fourth,  the  surrender  of  York,  with  "  Hostibus  ul- 
timum  debellatis."  This  is  seizing  the  three  most  brilliant  ac- 
tions of  his  military  life.  By  giving  out,  here,  a  wish  of  receiv- 
ing mottos  for  this  statue,  we  might  have  thousands  offered,  from 
which  still  better  might  be  chosen.  The  artist  made  the  same 
objection,  of  length,  to  the  inscription  for  the  bust  of  the  Marquis 
de  La  Fayette.  An  alteration  of  that  might  come  in  time  still, 
if  an  alteration  was  wished.  However,  I  am  not  certain  that  it 
is  desirable  in  either  case.  The  State  of  Georgia  has  given 
twenty  thousand  acres  of  land  to  the  Count  d'  Estaing.  This 
gift  is  considered  here  as  very  honorable  to  him,  and  it  has  grat- 
ified him  much.  I  am  persuaded,  that  a  gift  of  lands  by  the 
State  of  Virginia  to  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette  would  give  a 
good  opinion  here  of  our  character,  and  would  reflect  honor  on 
the  Marquis.  Nor,  am  I  sure  that  the  day  will  not  come  when 
it  might  be  an  useful  asylum  to  him.  The  time  of  life  at  which 
he  visited  America  was  too  well  adapted  to  receive  good  and 
lasting  impressions  to  permit  him  ever  to  accommodate  himself 
to  the  principles  of  monarchical  government ;  and  it  will  need  all 
his  own  prudence,  and  that  of  his  friends,  to  make  this  country 
a  safe  residence  for  him.  How  glorious,  how  comfortable  in  re- 
flection, will  it  be,  to  have  prepared  a  refuge  for  him  in  case  of  a 


534  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

reverse.  In  the  meantime,  he  could  settle  it  with  tenants  frorn 
the  freest  part  of  this  country,  Bretaigne.  I  have  never  suggest- 
ed the  smallest  idea  of  this  kind  to  him  ;  because  the  execution 
of  it  should  convey  the  first  notice.  If  the  State  has  not  a  right 
to  give  him  lands  with  their  own  officers,  they  could  buy  up,  at 
cheap  prices,  the  shares  of  others.  I  am  not  certain,  however, 
whether  in  the  public  or  private  opinion,  a  similar  gift  to  Count 
Rochambeau  could  be  dispensed  with.  If  the  State  could  give 
to  both,  it  would  be  better ;  but,  in  any  event,  I  think  they  should 
to  the  Marquis.  Count  Rochambeau,  too,  has  really  deserved 
more  attention  than  he  has  received.  Why  not  set  up  his  bust, 
that  of  Gates,  Greene,  Franklin,  in  your  new  capitol  ?  Apropos 
of  the  capitol.  Do,  my  dear  friend,  exert  yourself  to  get  the 
plan,  begun  on,  set  aside,  and  that  adopted,  which  was  drawn 
here.  It  was  taken  from  a  model  which  has  been  the  admiration 
of  sixteen  centuries ;  which  has  been  the  object  of  as  many  pil- 
grimages as  the  tomb  of  Mahomet ;  which  will  give  unrivalled 
honor  to  our  State,  and  furnish  a  model  whereon  to  form  the 
taste  of  our  young  men.  It  will  cost  much  less,  too,  than  the 
one  begun  ;  because  it  does  not  cover  one-half  of  the  area.  Ask, 
if  you  please,  a  sight  of  my  letter  of  January  the  26th,  to  Messrs. 
Buchanan  and  Hay,  which  will  spare  me  the  repeating  its  sub- 
stance here. 

Everything  is  quiet  in  Europe.  I  recollect  but  one  new  in- 
vention in  the  arts,  which  is  worth  mentioning.  It  is  a  mixture 
of  the  arts  of  engraving  and  printing,  rendering  both  cheaper. 
Write  or  draw  anything  on  a  plate  of  brass,  with  the  ink  of  the 
inventor,  and,  in  half  an  hour,  he  gives  you  engraved  copies  of 
it,  so  perfectly  like  the  original,  that  they  could  not  be  suspected 
to  be  copies.  His  types  for  printing  a  whole  page  are  all  in  one 
solid  piece.  An  author,  therefore,  only  prints  a  few  copies  of  his 
work,  from  time  to  time,  as  they  are  called  for.  This  saves  the 
loss  of  printing  more  copies  than  may  possibly  be  sold,  and  pre- 
vents an  edition  from  being  ever  exhausted. 

I  am,  with  a  lively  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  sincere  friend  and 
servant. 


COEEESPONDENOE. 


TO    MONSIEUR    BILLIARD    D'AUBERTEUIL. 

PARIS,  February  20,  1786. 

SIR, — I  have  been  honored  with  your  letter,  and  the  books 
which  accompanied  it,  for  which  I  return  you  my  hearty  thanks. 
America  cannot  but  be  nattered  with  the  choice  of  the  subject, 
on  which  you  are  at  present  employing  your  pen.  The  memory 
of  the  American  Revolution  will  be  immortal,  and  will  immor- 
talize those  who  record  it.  The  reward  is  encouraging,  and 
will  justify  all  those  pains,  which  a  rigorous  investigation  of 
facts  will  render  necessary.  Many  important  facts,  which  pre- 
ceded the  commencement  of  hostilities,  took  place  in  England. 
These  may  mostly  be  obtained  from  good  publications  in  that 
country.  Some  took  place  in  this  country.  They  will  be  prob- 
ably hidden  from  the  present  age.  But  America  is  the  field 
where  the  greatest  mass  of  important  events  were  transacted, 
and  where  alone  they  can  now  be  collected.  I,  therefore,  much 
applaud  your  idea  of  going  to  that  country,  for  the  verification 
of  the  facts  you  mean  to  record.  Every  man  there  can  tell  you 
more  than  any  man  here,  who  has  not  been  there  ;  and  the  very 
ground  itself  will  give  you  new  insight  into  some  of  the  most 
interesting  transactions.  If  I  can  be  of  service  to  you,  in  pro- 
moting your  object  there,  I  offer  myself  freely  to  your  use.  I 
shall  be  nattered  by  the  honor  of  your  visit  here,  at  any  time.  I 
am  seldom  from  home  before  noon  ;  but  if  any  later  hour  should 
suit  you  better,  I  will  take  care  to  be  at  home,  at  any  hour  and 
day  you  will  be  pleased  to  indicate. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  Sir,  your  most  obe- 
dient humble  servant. 


TO    DR.    BANCROFT. 

PARIS,  February  26,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  you  on  the  21st  instant,  on  the  subject 
of  Mr.  Paradise,  which  I  hope  you  have  received. 


536  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

By  the  death  of  Mr.  Williams,  a  copy  of  my  Notes  on  Virginia 
got  into  the  hands  of  a  bookseller,  who  was  ahout  publishing  a 
very  abominable  translation  of  them,  when  the  Abbe  Morellet 
heard  of  it,  and  diverted  him  from  it  by  undertaking  to  translate 
it  for  him.  They  will  thus  appear  in  French  in  spite  of  my  pre- 
cautions. The  Abbe  engaged  me  to  make  a  map,  which  I  wish 
to  have  engraved  in  London.  It  is  on  a  single  sheet,  twenty- 
three  inches  square,  and  very  closely  written.  It  comprehends 
from  Albemarle  Sound  to  Lake  Erie,  and  from  Philadelphia  to  the 
mouth  of  the  great  Kanawha,  containing  Virginia  and  Penn- 
sylvania, a  great  part  of  Maryland,  and  a  part  of  North  Carolina. 
It  is  taken  from  Suell,  Hutchins,  and  Fry  and  Jefferson.  I  wish 
the  favor  of  you  to  make  two  propositions  for  me,  and  to  inform 
me  of  the  result.  1.  To  know  from  one  of  the  best  engravers 
how  much  he  will  ask  for  the  plate  and  engraving,  and  in  how 
short  a  time  after  he  received  the  original  can  he  furnish  the 
plate,  done  in  the  best  manner ;  for  the  time  is  material,  as  the 
work  is  in  the  press.  2.  To  know  of  Faden,  or  any  other  map 
merchant,  for  how  much  he  will  undertake  to  furnish  me  1,800 
copies,  on  my  sending  the  map  to  him,  and  in  what  time  can  he 
furnish  them.  On  this  alternative,  I  am  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  engraver,  or  any  person  but  the  undertaker.  I  am  of 
opinion,  he  may  furnish  them  to  me  for  nothing,  and  fully  in- 
demnify himself  by  the  sale  of  the  maps.  Though  it  is  on  a  scale 
of  only  an  inch  to  twenty  miles,  it  is  as  particular  as  the  four- 
sheet  maps  from  which  it  is  taken,  and  I  answer  for  the  exact- 
ness of  the  reduction.  I  have  supplied  some  new  places,  though 
the  first  object  which  induced  me  to  undertake  it  was  to  make  a 
map  for  my  book.  I  soon  extended  my  view  to  the  making  as 
good  a  map  of  those  counties  as  my  materials  would  admit ;  and 
I  have  no  doubt  but  that  in  the  States  of  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land, and  Virginia,  600  copies  can  be  sold  for  a  dollar  apiece.  I 
shall  finish  it  in  about  a  fortnight,  except  the  divisions  in  the 
counties  of  Virginia,  which  I  cannot  do  at  all  till  I  can  get  Hen- 
ry's map  of  Virginia.  This  I  must  trouble  you  to  procure  for 
me,  and  send  immediately  by  the  diligence ;  and  also  give  me 


CORRESPONDENCE.  537 

information  on  the  premises  as  soon  as  possible.  You  will  per- 
ceive that  time  will  press.  I  hope  the  circumstances  of  this  af- 
fair will  plead  my  pardon  for  the  trouble  I  am  giving  you.  The 
expense  of  procuring  and  sending  the  map  shall  be  replaced,  and 
an  infinitude  of  thanks  attend  you.  Sir,  your  most  obedient 
humble  servant. 

P.  S.  I  do  not  propose  that  my  name  shall  appear  on  the  map, 
because  it  will  belong  to  its  original  authors,  and  because  I  do 
not  wish  to  place  myself  at  the  bar  of  the  public. 


TO    THE    COUNT    DE    VERGENNES. 

PARIS,  February  28,  1786. 

SIR, — Circumstances  of  public  duty  calling  me  suddenly  to 
London,  I  take  the  liberty  of  mentioning  it  to  your  Excellency, 
and  of  asking  a  few  minutes'  audience  of  you,  at  as  early  a  day 
and  hour  as  will  be  convenient  to  you,  and  that  you  will  be  so 
good  as  to  indicate  them  to  me.  I  would  wish  to  leave  Paris 
about  Friday  or  Saturday,  and  suppose  that  my  stay  in  London 
will  be  of  about  three  weeks.  I  shall  be  happy  to  be  the  bearer 
of  any  commands  your  Excellency  may  have  for  that  place,  and 
will  faithfully  execute  them.  I  cannot  omit  mentioning,  how 
pleasing  it  would  be  to  me  to  be  enabled,  before  my  departure, 
to  convey  to  the  American  prisoners  at  St.  Pol  de  Leon  such 
mitigation  of  their  fate  as  may  be  thought  admissible. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect 
and  esteem,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  arid  most  humble 
servant. 


TO    THE    HONORABLE    J.    JAY. 


PARIS,  March  5,  1786. 

SIR, — The  several  commissions  to  which  Congress  were  pleased 
to  appoint  Colonel  Humphreys   Secretary  of   Legation,  being 


538  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

shortly  to  expire,  and  a  French  packet  offering  him  a  conveniex 
passage  in  the  month  of  April,  he  proposes  to  avail  himself  «i 
that  occasion  of  returning  to  his  own  country,  and  of  then  pre 
senting  his  respects  and  thanks  to  Congress,  as  a  member  of  the 
several  commissions  with  which  his  office  was  connected.     1 
think  it  my  duty  to  bear  testimony  to  his  ready,  able,  and  faith- 
ful discharge  of  all  its  duties ;  and  I  beg  leave,  through  you,  to 
present  this  testimony  to  Congress,  and  to  assure  them  that  his 
talents  and  disposition  are  such  as  they  may  repose  themselves 
on  with  security,  should  they  think  to  avail  our  country  of  them 
on  any  future  occasion.     I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  high 
est  respect  and  esteem,  Sir,  yours,  &c. 


TO    JOHN    JAY. 

LONDON,  March  12,  1786. 

SIR, — The  date  of  a  letter  from  London  will  doubtless  be  as 
unexpected  to  you  as  it  was  unforeseen  by  myself  a  few  days  ago. 
On  the  27th  of  last  month,  Colonel  Smith  arrived  in  Paris  with 
a  letter  from  Mr.  Adams,  informing  me  that  there  was  at  this 
place  a  minister  from  Tripoli,  having  general  powers  to  enter  into 
treaties  on  behalf  of  his  State,  and  with  whom  it  was  possible 
we  might  do  something  under  our  commission  to  that  power ;  and 
that  he  gave  reason  to  believe  he  could  also  make  arrangements 
with  us  for  Tunis.  He  further  added  that  the  minister  of  Portu- 
gal here  had  received  ultimate  instructions  from  his  court,  and 
that  probably  that  treaty  might  be  concluded  in  the  space  of  three 
weeks  were  we  all  on  the  spot  together.  He,  therefore,  pressed 
me  to  come  over  immediately.  The  first  of  these  objects  had 
some  weight  on  my  mind,  because,  as  we  had  sent  no  person  to 
Tripoli  or  Tunis,  I  thought  if  we  could  meet  a  minister  from 
them  on  this  ground,  our  arrangements  would  be  settled  much 
sooner,  and  at  less  expense.  But  what  principally  decided  me 
was  the  desir^  of  bringing  matters  to  a  conclusion  with  Portugal 


CORRESPONDENCE.  539 

before  the  term  of  our  commissions  should  expire,  or  any  new 
turn  in  the  negotiations  of  France  and  England  should  abate 
their  willingness  to  fix  a  connection  with  us.  A  third  motive 
had  also  its  weight.  I  hoped  that  my  attendance  here,  and  the 
necessity  of  shortening  it,  might  be  made  use  of  to  force  a  de- 
cisive answer  from  this  court.  I  therefore  concluded  to  comply 
with  Mr.  Adams's  request.  I  went  immediately  to  Versailles,  and 
apprised  the  Count  de  Vergennes  that  circumstances  of  public 
duty  called  me  hither  for  three  or  four  weeks,  arranged  with  him 
some  matters,  and  set  out  with  Colonel  Smith  for  this  place,  where 
we  arrived  last  night,  which  was  as  early  as  the  excessive  rigor 
of  the  weather  admitted.  I  saw  Mr.  Adams  immediately,  and 
again  to  day.  He  informs  me  that  the  minister  of  Portugal  was 
taken  ill  five  or  six  days  ago,  has  been  very  much  so,  but  is  now 
somewhat  better.  It  would  be  very  mortifying,  indeed,  should 
this  accident,  with  the  shortness  of  the  term  to  which  I  limit  my 
stay  here,  defeat  what  was  the  principal  object  of  my  journey, 
and  that,  without  which,  I  should  hardly  have  undertaken  it. 
With  respect  to  this  country,-  I  had  no  doubt  but  that  every 
consideration  had  been  urged  by  Mr.  Adams  which  was  proper 
to  be  urged.  Nothing  remains  undone  in  this  way.  But  we 
shall  avail  ourselves  of  my  journey  here,  as  if  made  on  purpose, 
just  before  the  expiration  of  our  commission,  to  form  our  report 
to  Congress  on  the  execution  of  that  commission,  which  report 
they  may  be  given  to  know,  cannot  be  formed  without  decisive 
information  of  the  ultimate  determination  of  their  court.  There 
is  no  doubt  what  that  determination  will  be  ;  but  it  will  be  useful 
to  have  it ;  as  it  may  put  an  end  to  all  further  expectations  on 
our  side  the  water,  and  show  that  the  time  is  come  for  doing 
whatever  is  to  be  done  by  us  for  counteracting  the  unjust  and 
greedy  designs  of  this  country.  We  shall  have  the  honor,  be- 
fore I  leave  this  place,  to  inform  you  of  the  result  of  the  several 
matters  which  have  brought  me  to  it. 

A  day  or  two  before  my  departure  from  Paris,!  received  your 
letter  of  January  — .  The  question  therein  proposed,  "  How  far 
France  considers  herself  as  bound  to  insist  on  the  delivery  of 


540  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

the  posts,"  would  infallibly  produce  another,  How  far  we  con- 
sider ourselves  as  guarantees  of  their  American  possessions,  and 
bound  to  enter  into  any  future  war  in  which  these  may  be  at- 
tacked ?  The  words  of  the  treaty  of  alliance  seem  to  be  with- 
out ambiguity  on  either  head,  yet  I  should  be  afraid  to  commit 
Congress  by  answering  without  authority.  I  will  endeavor,  on 
my  return,  to  sound  the  opinion  of  the  minister,  if  possible  with- 
out exposing  myself  to  the  other  question.  Should  anything 
forcible  be  meditated  on  these  posts,  it  would  possibly  be  thought 
prudent,  previously,  to  ask  the  good  offices  of  France  to  obtain 
their  delivery.  In  this  case,  they  would  probably  say,  we  must 
first  execute  the  treaty  on  our  part  by  repealing  all  acts  which 
have  contravened  it.  Now  this  measure,  if  there  be  any  candor 
in  the  court  of  London,  would  suffice  to  obtain  a  delivery  of  the 
posts  from  them  without  the  mediation  of  any  third  power. 
However,  if  this  mediation  should  be  finally  needed,  I  see  no 
reason  to  doubt  our  obtaining  it,  and  still  less  to  question  its  om- 
nipotent influence  on  the  British  court. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect  and  esteem,  Sir, 
your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    RICHARD    HENRY    LEE. 

LONDON-,  April  22,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — In  your  letter  of  October  the  29th,  you  desired  me 
to  send  you  one  of  the  new  lamps.  I  tried  at  every  probable 
place  in  Paris,  and  could  not  get  a  tolerable  one.  I  have  been 
glad  of  it  since  I  came  here,  as  I  find  them  much  better  made 
here.  I  now  deliver  one,  with  this  letter,  into  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Fulwar  Skipwith,  a  merchant  from  Virginia,  settled  here,  who 
promises  to  send  it  to  you,  with  one  for  Mr.  C.  Thomson.  Be 
pleased  to  accept,  this  from  me.  It  is  now  found  that  they 
may  be  used  with  almost  any  oil. 

I  expect  to  leave  this  place  in  about  three  days.     Our  public 


CORRESPONDENCE.  541 

letters,  joint  and  separate,  will  inform  you  what  has  been  done, 
and  what  could  not  be  done  here.  With  respect  to  a  commercial 
treaty  with  this  country,  be  assured  that  this  government  not  only 
has  it  not  in  contemplation  at  present  to  make  any,  but  that  they 
do  not  conceive  that  any  circumstances  will  arise  which  shall 
render  it  expedient  for  them  to  have  any  political  connection  with 
us.  They  think  we  shall  be  glad  of  their  commerce  on  their 
own  terms.  There  is  no  party  in  our  favor  here,  either  in  power 
or  out  of  power.  Even  the  opposition  concur  with  the  ministry 
and  the  nation  in  this.  I  can  scarcely  consider  as  a  party  the 
Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  and  a  half  dozen  characters  about  him, 
such  as  Dr.  Price,  &c.,  who  are  impressed  with  the  utility  of  a 
friendly  connection  with  us.  The  former  does  not  venture  this 
sentiment  in  parliament,  and  the  latter  are  not  in  situations  to  be 
heard.  The  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  spoke  to  me  affectionately 
of  your  brother,  Doctor  Lee,  and  desired  his  respects  to  him, 
which  I  beg  leave  to  communicate  through  you.  Were  he  to 
come  into  the  ministry  (of  which  there  is  not  the  most  distant 
prospect),  he  must  adopt  the  King's  system,  or  go  out  again,  as  he 
did  before,  for  daring  to  depart  from  it.  When  we  see,  that 
through  all  the  changes  of  ministry  which  have  taken  place 
during  the  present  reign,  there  has  never  been  a  change  of  sys- 
tem with  respect  to  America,  we  cannot  reasonably  doubt,  that 
this  is  the  system  of  the  King  himself.  His  obstinacy  of  char- 
acter we  know ;  his  hostility  we  have  known,  and  it  is  embit- 
tered by  ill  success.  If  ever  this  nation,  during  his  life,  enter 
into  arrangements  with  us,  it  must  be  in  consequence  of  events 
of  which  they  do  not  at  present  see  a  possibility.  The  object 
of  the  present  ministry  is  to  buoy  up  the  nation  with  nattering 
calculations  of  their  present  prosperity,  and  to  make  them  believe 
they  are  better  without  us  than  with  us.  This  they  seriously 
believe  ;  for  what  is  it  men  cannot  be  made  to  believe  !  I  dined 
the  other  day  in  a  company  of  the  ministerial  party.  A  General 
Clark,  a  Scotchman  and  ministerialist,  sat  next  to  me.  He  in- 
troduced the  subject  of  American  affairs,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
conversation  told  me  that  were  America  to  petition  Parliament 


542  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

to  be  again  received  on  their  former  footing,  the  petition  would 
be  very  generally  rejected.  He  was  serious  in  this,  and  I  think 
it  was  the  sentiment  of  the  company,  and  is  the  sentiment  per- 
haps of  the  nation.  In  this  they  are  wise,  but  for  a  foolish 
reason.  They  think  they  lost  more  by  suffering  us  to  participate 
of  their  commercial  privileges,  at  home  and  abroad,  than  they 
lose  by  our  political  severance.  The  true  reason,  however,  why 
such  an  application  should  be  rejected  is,  that  in  a  very  short 
time,  we  should  oblige  them  to  add  another  hundred  millions  to 
their  debt  in  unsuccessful  attempts  to  retain  the  subjection  offered 
to  them.  They  are  at  present  in  a  frenzy,  and  will  not  be  re- 
covered from  it  till  they  shall  have  leaped  the  precipice  they  are 
now  so  boldly  advancing  to.  Writing  from  England,  I  write 
you  nothing  but  English  news.  The  continent  at  present  fur- 
nishes nothing  interesting.  I  shall  hope  the  favor  of  your  letters 
at  times.  The  proceedings  and  views  of  Congress,  and  of  the 
Assemblies,  the  opinions  and  dispositions  of  our  people  in  gen- 
eral, which,  in  governments  like  ours,  must  be  the  foundation  of 
measures,  will  always  be  interesting  to  me ;  as  will  whatever  re- 
spects your  own  health  and  happiness,  being  with  great  esteem, 
dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    CHARLES    THOMSON. 

LONDON,  April  22,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — In  one  of  your  former  letters,  you  expressed  a 
wish  to  have  one  of  the  newly-invented  lamps.  I  find  them 
made  here  much  better  than  at  Paris,  and  take  the  liberty  of 
asking  your  acceptance  of  one,  which  will  accompany  this  letter. 
It  is  now  found  that  any  tolerable  oil  may  be  used  in  them.  The 
spermaceti  oil  is  best,  of  the  cheap  kinds. 

I  could  write  you  volumes  on  the  improvements  which  I  find 
made,  and  making  here,  in  the  arts.  One  deserves  particular  no- 
tice, because  it  is  simple,  great,  and  likely  to  have  extensive  con- 


CORRESPONDENCK  543 

sequences.  It  is  the  application  of  steam,  as  an  agent  for  work- 
ing grist  mills.  I  have  visited  the  one  lately  made  here.  It 
was,  at  that  time,  turning  eight  pair  of  stones.  It  consumes  one 
hundred  bushels  of  coal  a  day.  It  is  proposed  to  put  up  thirty 
pair  of  stones.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  quantity  of  fuel, is 
to  be  increased.  I  hear  you  are  applying  the  same  agent  in 
America,  to  navigate  boats,  and  I  have  little  doubt,  but  that  it 
will  be  applied  generally  to  machines,  so  as  to  supersede  the  use 
of  water  ponds,  and  of  course  to  lay  open  all  the  streams  for 
navigation.  We  know  that  steam  is  one  of  the  most  powerful 
engines  we  can  employ ;  and  in  America,  fuel  is  abundant.  I 
find  no  new  publication  here  worth  sending  to  you.  I  shall  set 
out  for  Paris  within  three  or  four  days.  Our  public  letters  will 
inform  you  of  our  proceedings  here. 

I  am,  with  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    JOHN   JAY. 

LONDON,  April  L'3,  1*786. 

SIR, — In  my  letter  of  March  the  12th,  I  had  the  honor  of  ex- 
plaining to  you  the  motives  which  had  brought  me  to  this  place. 
A  joint  letter  from  Mr.  Adams  and  myself,  sent  by  the  last  packet, 
informed  you  of  the  result  of  our  conferences  with  the  Tripoline 
minister.  The  conferences  with  the  minister  of  Portugal  have 
been  drawn  to  a  greater  length  than  I  expected.  However, 
everything  is  now  agreed,  and  the  treaty  will  be  ready  for  signa- 
ture the  day  after  to-morrow.  I  shall  set  out  for  Paris  the  same 
day.  With  this  country  nothing  is  done ;  and  that  nothing  is 
intended  to  be  done,  on  their  part,  admits  not  the  smallest  doubt. 
The  nation  is  against  any  change  of  measures  ;  the  ministers  are 
against  it ;  some  from  principle,  others  from  subserviency ;  and 
the  King,  more  than  all  men,  is  against  it.  If  we  take  a  retro- 
spect to  the  beginning  of  the  present  reign,  we  observe  that 
amidst  all  the  changes  of  ministry,  no  change  of  measures  with 


5-14  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

respect  to  America  ever  took  place  ;  excepting  only  at  the  mo- 
ment of  the  peace  ;  and  the  minister  of  that  moment  was  imme- 
diately removed.  Judging  of  the  future  by  the  past,  I  do  not 
expect  a  change  of  disposition  during  the  present  reign,  which 
bids  fair  to  be  a  long  one,  as  the  King  is  healthy  and  temperate. 
That  he  is  persevering,  we  know.  If  he  ever  changes  his  plan, 
it  will  be  in  consequence  of  events,  which,  at  present,  neither 
himself  nor  his  ministers  place  among  those  which  are  probable. 
Even  the  opposition  dare  not  open  their  lips  in  favor  of  a  con- 
nection with  us,  so  unpopular  would  be  the  topic.  It  is  not  that 
they  think  our  commerce  unimportant  to  them.  I  find  that  the 
merchants  here  set  sufficient  value  on  it.  But  they  are  sure  of 
keeping  it  on  their  own  terms.  No  better  proof  can  be  shown 
of  the  security  in  which  the  ministers  think  themselves  on  this 
head,  than  that  they  have  not  thought  it  worth  while  to  give  us 
a  conference  on  the  subject,  though,  on  my  arrival,  we  exhibited 
to  them  our  commission,  observed  to  them  that  it  would  expire 
on  the  12th  of  the  next  month,  and  that  I  had  come  over  on  pur- 
pose to  see  if  any  arrangements  could  be  made  before  that  time. 
Of  two  months  which  then  remained,  six  weeks  have  elapsed 
without  one  scrip  of  a  pen,  or  one  word  from  a  minister,  except 
a  vague  proposition  at  an  accidental  meeting.  We  availed  our- 
selves even  of  that,  to  make  another  essay  to  extort  some  sort  of 
declaration  from  the  court.  But  their  silence  is  invincible.  But 
of  all  this,  as  well  as  of  the  proceedings  in  the  negotiation  with 
Portugal,  information  will  be  given  you  by  a  joint  letter  from 
Mr.  Adams  and  myself.  The  moment  is  certainly  arrived,  when 
the  plan  of  this  court  being  out  of  all  doubt,  Congress  and  the 
States  may  decide  what  their  own  measures  should  be. 

The  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  spoke  of  you  in  very  friendly 
terms,  and  desired  me  to  present  his  respects  to  you,  in  the  first 
letter  I  should  write.  He  is  thoroughly  sensible  of  the  folly  of 
the  present  measures  of  this  country,  as  are  a  few  other  characters 
about  him.  Dr.  Price  is  among  these,  and  is  particularly  dis- 
turbed at  the  present  prospect.  He  acknowledges,  however,  that 
all  change  is  desperate ;  which  weighs  more,  as  he  is  intimate 


CORRESPONDENCE.  545 

with  Mr.  Pitt.     This  small  band  of  friends,  favorable  as  it  is, 
does  not  pretend  to  say  one  word  in  public  on  our  subject. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  esteem 
and  respect,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    JOHN    JAY. 

LOXDOX,  April  23,  1786. 

SIR, — In  another  letter  of  this  day,  I  stated  to  you  what  had 
passed  with  public  characters,  since  my  arrival  here.  Conversa- 
tions with  private  individuals,  I  thought  it  best  not  to  mingle 
with  the  contents  of  that  letter.  Yet, as  some  have  taken  place 
which  relate  to  matters  within  our  instructions,  and  with  persons 
whose  opinions  deserve  to  have  some  weight,  I  will  take  the 
liberty  of  stating  them.  In  a  conversation  with  an  ancient  and 
respectable  merchant  of  this  place,  such  a  view  of  the  true  state 
of  the  commercial  connections  of  America  and  Great  Britain, 
was  presented  to  him,  as  induced  him  to  acknowledge  they  had 
been  mistaken  in  their  opinions,  and  to  ask  that  Mr.  Adams  and 
myself  would  permit  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  American 
merchants  to  call  on  us.  He  observed  that  the  same  person  hap- 
pened to  be  also  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  whole  body 
of  British  merchants  ;  and  that  such  was  the  respect  paid  to  his 
person  and  office,  that  we  might  consider  what  came  from  him, 
as  coming  from  the  committees  themselves.  He  called  on  us  at 
an  appointed  hour.  He  was  a  Mr.  Duncan  Campbell,  formerly 
much  concerned  in  the  American  trade.  We  entered  on  the 
subject  of  the  non-execution  of  the  late  treaty  of  peace,  alleged 
on  both  sides.  We  observed  that  the  refusal  to  deliver  the 
western  posts,  and  the  withdrawing  American  property  contrary 
to  express  stipulation,  having  preceded  what  they  considered  as 
breaches  on  our  part,  were  to  be  considered  as  the  causes  of  our 
proceedings.  The  obstructions  thrown  by  our  legislatures  in  the 
way  of  the  recovery  of  their  debts,  were  insisted  on  by  him. 

VOL.  i.  35 


546  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

We  observed  to  him,  that  the  great  amount  of  the  debt  from 
America  to  Great  Britain,  and  the  little  circulating  coin  in  the 
former  country,  rendered  an  immediate  payment  impossible  ;  that 
time  was  necessary  ;  that  we  had  been  authorized  to  enter  into 
explanatory  arrangements  on  this  subject ;  that  we  had  made 
overtures  for  the  purpose,  which  had  not  been  attended  to,  and 
that  the  States  had,  therefore,  been  obliged  to  modify  the  article 
for  themselves.  He  acknowledged  the  impossibility  of  imme- 
diate payment,  the  propriety  of  an  explanatory  convention,  and 
said  that  they  were  disposed  to  allow  a  reasonable  time.  We 
mentioned  the  term  of  five  years,  including  the  present ;  but  that 
judgments  might  be  allowed  immediately,  only  dividing  the 
execution  into  equal  and  annual  parts,  so  that  the  last  should  be 
levied  by  the  close  of  the  year  1790.  This  seemed  to  be  quite 
agreeable  to  him,  and  to  be  as  short  a  term  as  would  be  insisted 
on  by  them.  Proceeding  to  the  sum  to  be  demanded,  we  agreed 
that  the  principal,  with  the  interest  incurring  before  and  after  the 
war,  should  be  paid ;  but,  as  to  that  incurring  during  the  war,  we 
differed  from  him.  He  urged  its  justice  with  respect  to  them- 
selves, who  had  laid  out  of  the  use  of  their  money  during  that 
period.  This  was  his  only  topic.  We  opposed  to  it  all  those 
which  circumstances,  both  public  and  private,  gave  rise  to.  He 
appeared  to  feel  their  weight,  but  said  the  renunciation  of  this 
interest  was  a  bitter  pill,  and  such  a  one  as  the  merchants  here 
could  not  swallow.  He  wished  that  no  declaration  should  be 
made  as  to  this  article  ;  but  we  observed  that  if  we  entered  into 
explanatory  declarations  of  the  points  unfavorable  to  us,  we 
should  expect,  as  a  consideration  for  this,  corresponding  declara- 
tions on  the  parts  in  our  favor.  In  fact,  we  supposed  his  view 
was  to  leave  this  part  of  the  interest  to  stand  on  the  general  ex- 
pressions of  the  treaty,  that  they  might  avail  themselves,  in  incli- 
dual  cases,  of  the  favorable  dispositions  of  debtors  or  juries.  We 
proceeded  to  the  necessity  of  arrangements  of  our  future  com- 
merce, were  it  only  as  a  means  of  enabling  our  country  to  pay 
its  debts.  We  suggested  that  they  had  been  contracted,  while 
certain  modes  of  remittance  had  existed  here,  which  had  been 


CORRESPONDENCE.  547 

an  inducement  to  us  to  contract  these  debts.  He  said  he  was 
not  authorized  to  speak  on  the  subject  of  the  future  commerce. 
He  appeared  really  and  feelingly  anxious  that  arrangements 
should  be  stipulated  as  to  the  payment  of  the  old  debts  ;  said  he 
would  proceed  in  that  moment  to  Lord  Caermarthen's,  and  dis- 
cuss the  subject  with  him,  and  that  we  might  expect  to  hear 
from  him.  He  took  leave,  and  we  have  never  since  heard  from 
him  or  any  other  person  on  the  subject.  Congress  will  judge 
how  far  these  conversations  should  influence  their  future  proceed- 
ings, or  those  of  the  States. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect  and  esteem, 
Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    THE    COUNT    DE    VERGENNES. 

PARIS,  May  3,  1786. 

SIR, — After  begging  leave  to  present  my  respects  to  your  Ex- 
cellency, on  my  return  to  this  place,  I  take  the  liberty  of  offering 
to  your  attention  some  papers,  which  I  found  on  my  arrival  here, 
written  by  sundry  merchants  of  L'Orient,  and  others,  some  of 
whom  are  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  all  of  them  con- 
cerned in  the  trade  between  the  two  countries.  This  has  been 
carried  on,  by  an  exchange  of  the  manufactures  and  produce  of 
this  country,  for  the  produce  of  that,  and  principally  for  tobacco, 
which,  though,  on  its  arrival  here,  confined  to  a  single  pur- 
chaser, has  been  received  equally  from  all  sellers.  In  confidence 
of  a  continuance  of  this  practice,  the  merchants  of  both  coun- 
tries were  carrying  on  their  commerce  of  exchange.  A  late  con- 
tract by  the  Farm  has,  in  a  great  measure,  fixed  in  a  single  mer- 
cantile house,  the  supplies  of  tobacco  wanted  for  this  country. 
This  arrangement  found  the  established  merchants  with  some 
tobacco  on  hand,  some  on  the  seas  coming  to  them,  and  more 
still  due.  By  the  papers  now  enclosed,  it  seems  that  there  are 
six  thousand  four  hundred  and  eight  hogsheads,  in  the  single 


548  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

port  of  L'Orient.  Whether  government  may  interfere,  as  to  ar- 
ticles furnished  by  the  merchants  after  they  had  notice  of  the 
contract  before  mentioned,  must  depend  on  principles  of  policy. 
But  those  of  justice  seem  to  urge,  that,  for  commodities  furnish- 
ed before  such  notice,  they  should  be  so  far  protected,  as  that 
they  may  wind  up  without  loss,  the  transactions  in  which  the 
new  arrangement  found  them  actually  engaged.  Your  Excel- 
lency is  the  best  judge,  how  far  it  may  be  consistent  with  the 
rules  of  government,  to  interfere  for  their  relief ;  and  with  you, 
therefore,  I  beg  leave  entirely  to  rest  their  interests. 

Information  lately  received,  relative  to  the  Barbary  States, 
has  suggested,  that  it  might  be  expedient,  and  perhaps  neces- 
sary for  us,  to  pave  the  way  to  arrangements  with  them,  by  a 
previous  application  to  the  Ottoman  Porte.  Your  Excellency's 
intimate  acquaintance  with  this  subject  would  render  your  ad- 
vice to  us  equally  valuable  and  desirable.  If  you  would  be 
pleased  to  permit  me  to  wait  on  you,  any  day  or  hour  which 
shall  be  most  convenient  to  yourself,  I  should  be  much  gratified 
by  a  little  conversation  with  you  on  this  subject. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    JOHN    PAGE. 

PARIS,  May  4,  1*786.- 

DEAR  SIR, — Your  two  favors  of  March  the  15th  and  August 
the  23d,  1785,  by  Monsieur  de  la  Croix,  came  to  hand  on  the 
15th  of  November.  His  return  gives  me  an  opportunity  of  send- 
ing you  a  copy  of  the  nautical  almanacs  for  1786,  '7,  '8,  '9. 
There  is  no  late  and  interesting  publication  here,  or  I  would 
send  it  by  the  same  conveyance.  With  these  almanacs,  I  pack 
a  copy  of  some  Notes  I  wrote  for  Monsieur  de  Marbois,  in  the 
year  1781,  of  which  I  had  a  few  printed  here.  They  were  writ- 
ten in  haste,  and  for  his  private  inspection.  A  few  friends  hav- 
ing asked  copies,  I  found  it  cheaper  to  print  than  to  write  them. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  549 

They  will  offer  nothing  new  to  you,  not  even  as  an  oblation  of 
my  friendship  for  you,  which  is  as  old  almost  as  we  are  our- 
selves. Mazzei  brought  me  your  favor  of  April  the  28th.  I 
thank  you  much  for  your  communications.  Nothing  can  be 
more  grateful  at  such  a  distance.  It  is  unfortunate  that  most 
people  think  the  occurrences  passing  daily  under  their  eyes,  are 
either  known  to  all  the  world,  'or  not  worth  being  known. 
They  therefore  do  not  give  them  place  in  their  letters.  I  hope 
you  will  be  so  good  as  to  continue  your  friendly  information. 
The  proceedings  of  our  public  bodies,  the  progress  of  the  public 
mind  on  interesting  questions,  the  casualties  which  happen 
among  our  private  friends,  and  whatever  is  interesting  to  your- 
self and  family,  will  always  be  anxiously  received  by  me. 
There  is  one  circumstance  in  the  work  you  were  concerned  in, 
which  has  not  yet  come  to  my  knowledge ;  to  wit,  how  far 
westward  from  Fort  Pitt  does  the  western  boundary  of  Penn- 
sylvania pass,  and  where  does  it  strike  the  Ohio  ?  The  propo- 
sition you  mention  from  Mr.  Anderson,  on  the  purchase  of  to- 
bacco, I  would  have  made  use  of,  but  that  I  have  engaged  the 
abuses  of  the  tobacco  trade  on  a  more  general  scale.  I  confess 
their  redress  is  by  no  means  certain  ;  but,  till  I  see  all  hope  of 
removing  the  evil  by  the  roots  desperate,  I  cannot  propose  to 
prune  its  branches. 

I  returned  but  three  or  four  days  ago  from  a  two  months' 
trip  to  England.  I  traversed  that  country  much,  and  own  both 
town  and  country  fell  short  of  my  expectations.  Comparing  it 
with  this,  I  found  a  much  greater  proportion  of  barrens,  a  soil, 
in  other  parts,  not  naturally  so  good  as  this,  not  better  cultivated, 
but  better  manured,  and,  therefore,  more  productive.  This  pro- 
ceeds from  the  practice  of  long  leases  there,  and  short  ones  here. 
The  laboring  people  here  are  poorer  than  in  England.  They 
pay  about  one  half  their  produce  in  rent ;  the  English,  in  gen- 
eral, about  a  third.  The  gardening,  in  that  country,  is  the  ar- 
ticle in  which  it  surpasses  all  the  earth.  I  mean  their  pleasure 
gardening.  This,  indeed,  went  far  beyond  my  ideas.  The  city 
of  London,  though  handsomer  than  Paris,  is  not  so  handsome  as 


550  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

Philadelphia.  Their  architecture  is  in  the  most  wretched  style 
I  ever  saw,  not  meaning  to  except  America,  where  it  is  bad,  nor 
even  Virginia,  where  it  is  worse  than  in  any  other  part  of  Amer- 
ica which  I  have  seen.  The  mechanical  arts  in  London  are 
carried  to  a  wonderful  perfection.  But  of  these  I  need  not 
speak,  because  of  them  my  countrymen  have  unfortunately  too 
many  samples  before  their  eyes.  I  consider  the  extravagance, 
which  has  seized  them,  as  a  more  baneful  evil  than  toryism  was 
during  the  war.  It  is  the  more  so,  as  the  example  is  set  by  the 
best  and  most  amiable  characters  among  us.  Would  a  mission- 
ary appear,  who  would  make  frugality  the  basis  of  his  religious 
system,  and  go  through  the  land,  preaching  it  up  as  the  only 
road  to  salvation,  I  would  join  his  school,  though  not  generally 
disposed  to  seek  my  religion  out  of  the  dictates  of  my  own  rea- 
son, and  feelings  of  my  own  heart.  These  things  have  been 
more  deeply  impressed  on  my  mind,  by  what  I  have  heard  and 
seen  in  England.  That  nation  hate  us,  their  ministers  hate  us, 
and  their  King,  more  than  all  other  men.  They  have  the  im- 
pudence to  avow  this,  though  they  acknowledge  our  trade  im- 
portant to  them.  But  they  think,  we  cannot  prevent  our  coun- 
trymen from  bringing  that  into  their  laps.  A  conviction  of  this 
determines  them  to  make  no  terms  of  commerce  with  us.  They 
say,  they  will  pocket  our  carrying  trade  as  well  as  their  own. 
Our  overtures  of  commercial  arrangements  have  been  treated 
with  a  derision,  which  shows  their  firm  persuasion,  that  we  shall 
never  unite  to  suppress  their  commerce,  or  even  to  impede  it. 
I  think  their  hostility  towards  us  is  much  more  deeply  rooted  at 
present,  than  during  the  war.  In  the  arts,  the  most  striking 
thing  I  saw  there,  new,  was  the  application  of  the  principle  of 
the  steam-engine  to  grist  mills.  I  saw  eight  pair  of  stones  which 
are  worked  by  steam,  and  there  are  to  be  set  up  thirty  pair  in. 
the  same  house.  A  hundred  bushels  of  coal  a  day,  are  con- 
sumed at  present.  I  do  not  know  in  what  proportion  the  con- 
sumption will  be  increased  by  the  additional  geer. 

Be  so  good  as  to  present  my  respects  to  Mrs.  Page  and  your 
family,  to  W.  Lewis,  F.  Willis,  and  their  families,  and  to  accept 


CORRESPONDENCE.  551 

yourself  assurances  of  the  sincere  regard  with  which  I  am,  dear 
Sir,  your  affectionate  friend  and  servant. 


TO    WILLIAM    CARMICHAEL. 

PARIS,  May  5,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — A  visit  of  two  months  to  England  has  been  the 
cause  of  your  not  hearing  from  me  during  that  period.  Your 
letters  of  February  3d,  to  Mr.  Adams  and  myself,  and  of  Feb- 
ruary 4th,  to  me,  had  come  to  hand  before  my  departure.  While 
I  was  in  London,  Mr.  Adams  received  the  letters  giving  informa- 
tion of  Mr.  Lambe's  arrival  in  Algiers.  In  London,  we  had  con- 
ferences with  a  Tripoline  ambassador,  now  at  that  court,  named 
Abdrahaman.  He  asked  us  thirty  thousand  guineas  for  a  peace 
with  his  court,  and  as  much  for  Tunis,  for  which  he  said  he  could 
answer.  What  we  were  authorized  to  offer,  being  to  this  but  as  a 
drop  to  a  bucket,  our  conferences  were  repeated,  only  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  information.  If  the  demands  of  Algiers  and 
Morocco  should  be  in  proportion  to  this,  according  to  their  superior 
power,  it  is  easy  to  foresee  that  the  United  States  will  not  buy  a 
peace  with  money.  What  principally  led  me  to  England  was,  the 
information  that  the  Chevalier  del  Pinto,  Portuguese  minister  at 
that  court,  had  received  full  powers  to  treat  with  us.  I  accord- 
ingly went  there,  and,  in  the  course  of  six  weeks,  we  arranged 
a  commercial  treaty  between  our  two  countries.  His  powers 
were  only  to  negotiate,  not  to  sign.  And  as  I  could  not  wait, 
Mr.  Adams  and  myself  signed,  and  the  Chevalier  del  Pinto  ex- 
pected daily  the  arrival  of  powers  to  do  the  same.  The  footing 
on  which  each  has  placed  the  other,  is  that  of  the  most  favored 
nation.  We  wished  much  to  have  had  some  privileges  in  their 
American  possessions;  but  this  was  not  to  be  effected.  The 
right  to  import  flour  into  Portugal,  though  not  conceded  by  the 
treaty,  we  are  not  without  hopes  of  obtaining. 

My  journey  furnished  us  occasion  to  renew  our  overtures  to  the 
court  of  London ;  which  it  was  the  more  important  to  do,  as  our 


552  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

powers  to  that  court  were  to  expire  on  the  12th  of  this  month. 
These  overtures  were  not  attended  to,  and  our  commission  ex- 
piring, we  made  our  final  report  to  Congress ;  and  I  suppose  this 
the  last  offer  of  friendship  which  will  ever  be  made  on  our  part. 
The  treaty  of  peace  being  unexecuted  on  either  part,  in  important 
points,  each  will  now  take  their  own  measures  for  obtaining  exe- 
cution. I  think  the  King,  ministers,  and  nation  are  more  bitterly 
hostile  to  us  at  present,  than  at  any  period  of  the  late  war.  A  like 
disposition  on  our  part  has  been  rising  for  some  time.  In  what 
events  these  things  will  end,  we  cannot  foresee.  Our  countrymen 
are  eager  in  their  passions  and  enterprises,  and  not  disposed  to 
calculate  their  interests  against  these.  Our  enemies  (for  such 
they  are,  in  fact)  have  for  twelve  years  past  followed  but  one  uni- 
form rule,  that  of  doing  exactly  the  contrary  of  what  reason  points 
out.  Having,  early  during  our  contest,  observed  this  in  the 
British  conduct,  I  governed  myself  by  it  in  all  prognostications 
of  their  measures ;  and  I  can  say,  with  truth,  it  never  failed  me 
but  in  the  circumstance  of  their  making  peace  with  us.  I  have 
no  letters  from  America  of  later  date  than  the  new  year.  Mr. 
Adams  had,  to  the  beginning  of  February.  I  am  in  hopes  our 
letters  will  give  a  new  spur  to  the  proposition,  for  investing  Con- 
gress with  the  regulation  of  our  commerce. 

This  will  be  handed  you  by  a  Baron  Waltersdorf,  a  Danish 
gentleman,  whom,  if  you  did  not  already  know,  I  should  take 
the  liberty  of  recommending  to  you.  You  were  so  kind  as  to  write 
me  that  you  would  forward  me  a  particular  map,  which  has  not 
come  to  hand.  I  beg  you  to  be  assured  of  the  respect  and  es- 
teem with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  Sir,  your  most 
obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    MB.  DUMAS. 

PARIS,  May  6,  1 786. 

SIR, — Having  been  absent  in  England,  for  some  time  past,  your 
favors  of  February  the  27th,  March  the  28th,  and  April  the  llth, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  553 

have  not  been  acknowledged  as  soon  as  they  should  have  been. 
I  am  obliged  to  you,  for  assisting  to  make  me  known  to  the  Rhin- 
grave  de  Salm  and  the  Marquis  de  la  Ccste,  whose  reputations 
render  an  acquaintance  with  them  desirable.  I  have  not  yet  seen 
either,  but  expect  that  honor  from  the  Rhingrave  very  soon. 
Your  letters  to  Mr.  Jay  and  Mr.  Van  Berkel,  received  in  my  ab- 
sence, will  be  forwarded  by  a  gentleman  who  leaves  this  place 
for  New  York,  within  a  few  days.  I  sent  the  treaty  with  Prussia, 
by  a  gentleman  who  sailed  from  Havre,  the  llth  of  November. 
The  arrival  of  that  vessel  in  America  is  not  yet  known  here. 
Though  the  time  is  not  long  enough  to  produce  despair,  it  is  suffi- 
ciently so  to  give  inquietude  lest  it  should  be  lost.  This  would  be  a 
cause  of  much  concern  to  me  ;  I  beg  the  favor  of  you  to  mention 
this  circumstance  to  the  Baron  de  Thulemeyer,  as  an  apology  for 
his  not  hearing  from  us.  The  last  advices  from  America  bring 
us  nothing  interesting.  A  principal  object  of  my  journey  to  Lon- 
don was  to  enter  into  commercial  arrangements  with  Portugal. 
This  has  been  done  almost  in  the  precise  terms  of  those  of  Prussia. 
The  English  are  still  our  enemies.  The  spirit  existing  there,  and 
rising  in  America,  has  a  very  lowering  aspect.  To  what  events 
it  may  give  birth,  I  cannot  foresee.  We  are  young  and  can  sur- 
vive them ;  but  their  rotten  machine  must  crush  under  the  trial. 
The  animosities  of  sovereigns  are  temporary,  and  may  be  allayed ; 
but  those  which  seize  the  whole  body  of  a  people,  and  of  a  peo- 
ple, too,  who  dictate  their  own  measures,  produce  calamities  of 
long  duration.  I  shall  not  wonder  to  see  the  scenes  of  ancient 
Rome  and  Carthage  renewed  in  our  day ;  and  if  not  pursued  to 
the  same  issue,  it  may  be  because  the  republic  of  modern  powers 
will  not  permit  the  extinction  of  any  one  of  its  members.  Peace 
and  friendship  with  all  mankind  is  our  wisest  policy  ;  and  I  wish 
we  may  be  permitted  to  pursue  it.  But  the  temper  and  folly  of 
our  enemies  may  not  leave  this  in  our  choice.  I  am  happy  in 
our  prospect  of  friendship  with  the  most  estimable  powers  of  Eu- 
rope, and  particularly  with  those  of  the  confederacy,  of  which 
yours  is.  That  your  present  crisis  may  have  a  happy  issue,  is 


554  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

the  prayer  and  wish  of  him  who  has  the  honor  to  be,  with  great 
respect  and  esteem,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO  WILLIAM  DRAYTON. 

PARIS,  May  6,  1786. 

SIR, — Your  favor  of  November  the  23d  came  duly  to  hand. 
A  call  to  England,  soon  after  its  receipt,  has  prevented  my  ac- 
knowledging it  so  soon  as  I  should  have  done.  I  am  very  sensible 
of  the  honor  done  me  by  the  South  Carolina  society  for  promoting 
and  improving  agriculture  and  other  rural  concerns,  when  they 
were  pleased  to  elect  me  to  be  of  their  body ;  and  I  beg  leave, 
through  you,  Sir,  to  convey  to  them  my  grateful  thanks  for  this 
favor.  They  will  find  in  me,  indeed,  but  a  very  unprofitable  ser- 
vant. At  present,  particularly,  my  situation  is  unfavorable  to  the 
desire  I  feel,  of  promoting  their  views.  However,  I  shall  cer- 
tainly avail  myself  of  every  occasion  which  shall  occur,  of  doing 
so.  Perhaps  I  may  render  some  service,  by  forwarding  to  the 
society  such  new  objects  of  culture,  as  may  be  likely  to  succeed 
in  the  soil  and  climate  of  South  Carolina.  In  an  infant  country, 
as  ours  is,  these  experiments  are  important.  We  are  probably 
far  from  possessing,  as  yet,  all  the  articles  of  culture  for  which 
nature  has  fitted  our  country.  To  find  out  these,  will  require 
abundance  of  unsuccessful  experiments.  But  if,  in  a  multitude 
of  these,  we  make  one  useful  acquisition,  it  repays  our  trouble. 
Perhaps  it  is  the  peculiar  duty  of  associated  bodies,  to  undertake 
these  experiments.  Under  this  sense  of  the  views  of  the  society, 
and  with  so  little  opportunity  of  being  otherwise  useful  to  them, 
I  shall  be  attentive  to  procure  for  them  the  seeds  of  such  plants, 
as  they  will  be  so  good  as  to  point  out  to  me,  or  as  shall  occur  to 
myself  as  worthy  their  notice.  I  send  at  present,  by  Mr.  McQueen, 
some  seeds  of  a  grass,  found  very  useful  in  the  southern  parts  of 
Europe,  and  particularly,  and  almost  solely  cultivated  in  Malta. 
It  is  called  by  the  names  of  Sulla,  and  Spanish  St.  Foin;  and  is 


CORRESPONDENCE.  555 

the  Hedysarum  coronarium  of  Linnaeus.  It  is  usually  sown  early 
in  autumn.  I  shall  receive  a  supply  of  fresher  seed,  this  fall, 
which  I  will  also  do  myself  the  honor  of  forwarding  to  you.  I 
expect,  in  the  same  season,  from  the  south  of  France,  some  acorns 
of  the  cork  oak,  which  I  propose  for  your  society,  as  I  am  per- 
suaded they  will  succeed  with  you.  I  observed  it  to  grow  in 
England,  without  shelter ;  not  well,  indeed,  but  so  as  to  give 
hopes  that  it  would  do  well  with  you.  I  shall  consider  myself 
as  always  honored  by  the  commands  of  the  society,  whenever 
they  shall  find  it  convenient  to  make  use  of  me,  and  beg  you  to 
be  assured,  personally,  of  the  sentiments  of  respect  and  esteem 
with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and 
most  humble  servant. 


TO    W.    T.    FRANKLIN. 

PARIS,  May  7,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — On  my  return  from  a  two  months'  visit  to  Eng- 
land, I  found  here  your  favor  of  January  the  18th.  This  con- 
tains the  latest  intelligence  I  have  from  America.  Your  effects 
not  being  then  arrived  gives  me  anxiety  for  them,  as  I  think 
they  went  in  a  vessel  which  sailed  from  Havre  the  llth  of  No- 
vember. In  this  vessel,  went  also  the  two  Mr.  Fitzhughs  of 
Virginia,  with  the  Prussian  treaty,  our  papers  relative  to  the  Bar- 
bary  States,  with  the  despatches  for  Congress,  and  letters  which 
I  had  been  writing  to  other  persons  in  America  for  six  weeks 
preceding  their  departure.  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  the  informa- 
tion as  to  Dr.  Franklin's  health,  in  which  I  feel  a  great  interest. 
I  concur  in  opinion  with  you,  that  in  the  present  factious  divi- 
sion of  your  State,  an  angel  from  heaven  could  do  no  good.  I 
have  been  sorry,  therefore,  from  the  beginning,  to  see  such  time 
as  Dr.  Franklin's  wasted  on  so  hopeless  a  business.  You  have 
formed  a  just  opinion  of  Monroe.  He  is  a  man  whose  soul 
might  be  turned  wrong  side  outwards,  without  discovering  a 
blemish  to  the  world.  I  wish  with  all  my  heart,  Congress  may 


556  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

call  you  into  the  diplomatic  line,  as  that  seems  to  have  attracted 
your  own  desires.  It  is  not  one  in  which  you  can  do  anything 
more  than  pass  the  present  hour  agreeably,  without  any  prospect 
to  future  provision.  Perhaps,  the  arrangements  with  Portugal, 
by  adding  to  the  number  of  those  appointments,  may  give  Con- 
gress an  opportunity  of  doing  justice  to  your  own,  and  to  Dr. 
Franklin's  services.  If  my  wishes  could  aid  you,  you  have  them 
sincerely.  My  late  return  to  this  place  scarcely  enables  me  to 
give  you  any  of  its  news.  I  have  not  yet  called  on  M.  La  Veil- 
lard,  or  seen  any  of  your  acquaintances.  The  marriage  of  the 
ambassador  of  Sweden  with  Miss  Neckar,  you  have  heard  of. 
Houdon  is  about  taking  a  wife  also.  His  bust  of  the  General 
has  arrived,  and  meets  the  approbation  of  those  who  know  the 
original.  Europe  enjoys  a  perfect  calm,  at  present.  Perhaps  it 
may  be  disturbed  by  the  death  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  which  is 
constantly  expected.  As  yet,  we  have  no  information  from  the 
Barbary  States,  which  may  enable  us  to  prognosticate  the  success 
of  our  endeavors  to  effect  a  peace  in  that  quarter.  Present  me 
respectfully  and  affectionately  to  Dr.  Franklin,  and  accept  assur- 
ances of  the  esteem  with  which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and 
servant. 


TO    ELBRIDGE    GERRY. 

PAUIS,  May  7,   1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — My  last  to  you,  was  of  the  llth  of  October. 
Soon  after  that,  your  favor  of  the  12th  September  came  to  hand. 
My  acknowledgment  of  this  is  made  later  than  it  should  have 
been,  by  my  trip  to  England.  Your  long  silence  I  ascribe  to  a 
more  pleasing  cause,  that  of  devoting  your,  spare  time  to  one 
more  capable  of  filling  it  with  happiness,  and  to  whom,  as  well 
as  to  yourself,  I  wish  all  those  precious  blessings  which  this 
change  of  condition  is  calculated  to  give  you. 

My  public  letters  to  Mr.  Jay  will  have  apprised  you  of  my 
journey  to  England,  and  of  its  motives  ;  and  the  joint  letters  of 


OOREESPONDENOE.  557 

Mr.  Adams  and  myself,  of  its  effects.  With  respect  to  Portugal, 
it  produced  arrangements ;  with  respect  to  England  and  Barbary, 
only  information.  I  am  quite  at  a  loss  what  you  will  do  with 
England.  To  leave  her  in  possession  of  our  posts,  seems  inad- 
missible ;  and  yet  to  take  them,  brings  on  a  state  of  things  for 
which  we  seem  not  to  be  in  readiness.  Perhaps  a  total  suppress- 
ion of  her  trade,  or  an  exclusion  of  her  vessels  from  the  car- 
riage of  our  produce,  may  have  some  effect ;  but  I  believe  not 
very  great.  Their  passions  are  too  deeply  and  too  universally  en- 
gaged in  opposition  to  us.  The  ministry  have  found  means  to 
persuade  the  nation,  that  they  are  richer  than  they  were  while 
we  participated  of  their  commercial  privileges.  We  should  try 
to  turn  our  trade  into  other  channels.  I  am  in  hopes  this  coun- 
try will  endeavor  to  give  it  more  encouragement.  But  what 
will  you  do  with  the  piratical  States  ?  Buy  a  peace  at  their  en- 
ormous price  ;  force  one ;  or  abandon  the  carriage  into  the  Medi- 
terranean to  other'  powers  ?  All  these  measures  are  disagree- 
able. The  decision  rests  with  you.  The  Emperor  is  now  press- 
ing a  treaty  with  us.  In  a  commercial  view,  I  doubt  whether 
it  is  desirable  ;  but  in  a  political  one,  I  believe  it  is.  He  is  now 
undoubtedly  the  second  power  in  Europe,  and  on  the  death  of 
the  King  of  Prussia,  he  becomes  the  first  character.  An  alliance 
with  him  will  give  us  respectability  in  Europe,  which  we  have 
occasion  for.  Besides,  he  will  be  at  the  head  of  the  second 
grand  confederacy  of  Europe,  and  may,  at  any  time,  serve  us 
with  the  powers  constituting  that.  I  am  pressed  on  so  many 
hands  to  recommend  Dumas  to  the  patronage  of  Congress,  that 
I  cannot  avoid  it.  Everybody  speaks  well  of  him,  and  his  zeal 
in  our  cause.  Anything  done  for  him  will  gratify  this  court, 
and  the  patriotic  party  in  Holland,  as  well  as  some  distinguished 
individuals.  I  am  induced,  from  my  own  feelings,  to  recommend 
Colonel  Humphreys  to  your  care.  He  is  sensible,  prudent,  and 
honest,  and  may  be  very  firmly  relied  on,  in  any  office  which 
requires  these  talents.  I  pray  you  to  accept  assurances  of  the 
sincere  esteem  and  respect  with  which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your 
most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


558  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

TO    MR.    OTTO. 

PARIS,  May  7,  1786. 

SIR, — My  absence  in  England,  for  some  time  past,  has  pre- 
vented my  acknowledging  so  soon  as  I  should  have  done,  the 
receipt  of  your  favor  of  January  15.  In  that  you  speak  of  hav- 
ing written  other  letters,  but  no  other  has  ever  come  to  my  hands. 
I  thank  you  for  the  intelligence  that  contained,  several  articles 
of  which  never  came  to  me  through  any  other  channel.  On 
this  side  of  the  water  everything  is  quiet.  But  the  death  of  the 
King  of  Prussia  is  daily  expected,  and  I  think  it  very  possible 
this  event  may  bring  on  a  disturbance  of  the  peace  of  Europe, 
as  the  elastic  spirit  of  the  Emperor  will  feel  itself  restrained  by 
one  pressure  the  less.  This  possibility  excepted,  Europe  never 
had  a  more  pacific  appearance.  Among  the  Dutch,  the  republi- 
can party  seems  to  be  quite  triumphant.  The  misunderstanding 
between  Spain  and  Naples  cannot  produce  any  immediate  con- 
sequences ;  and  that  between  France  and  Portugal,  we  are  told, 
is  amicably  settled.  It  is  said  that  the  Elector  of  Bavaria  is  in 
an  ill  state  of  health.  His  death,  with  that  of  the  King  of  Prus- 
sia, would  hazard  the  tranquillity  of  Europe.  I  have  not  heard 
from  the  Chevalier  de  La  Luzerne  since  my  return.  Count  Ad- 
hemer  is  again  in  England.  A  change  in  the  ministry  here  is 
more  talked  of  and  expected  than  at  any  time  since  my  coming 
to  this  place.  It  is  said  the  Baron  de  Breteuil  will  go  out ;  that 
M.  de  Calonnes  will  be  transferred  to  this  place,  and  a  Monsieur 
Maillan  succeed  him.  But  the  public  know  too  little  and  talk 
too  much  of  these  things  to  command  our  belief.  The  marriage 
of  the  Swedish  ambassador  with  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Neckar, 
you  have  known  long  ago.  The  Cardinal  de  Rohan  and  Cagli- 
otho  remain  where  they  did,  in  the  Bastile  ;  nor  does  their  af- 
fairs seem  as  yet  to  draw  towards  a  conclusion.  It  has  been  a 
curious  matter,  in  which  the  circumstances  of  intrigue  and  de- 
tail have  busied  all  the  tongues,  the  public  liberty  none.  I 
have  been  laboring  with  the  ministry  to  get  the  trade  between 
this  country  and  the  United  States  put  on  a  better  footing,  by 


CORRESPONDENCE.  559 

admitting  a  free  importation  and  sale  of  our  produce,  assuring 
them  that  we  should  take  their  manufactures  at  whatever  extent 
they  would  enable  us  to  pay  for  them.  The  importation  of  our 
whale  oil  is,  by  the  successful  endeavors  of  M.  de  La  Fayette, 
put  on  a  good  footing  for  this  year.  Mine,  for  emancipating  the 
tobacco  trade,  have  been  less  successful.  I  still  continue  to  stir, 
however,  this  and  all  other  articles.  I  think  myself  happy  in 
the  prospect  of  a  correspondence  with  you,  and  am  with  sincere 
respect  and  esteem,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    COLONEL    HUMPHREYS. 

PARIS,  May  7,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — My  stay  in  London  having  been  considerably  long- 
er than  I  had  ^expected,  I  did  not  arrive  in  this  place  till  the  last 
day  of  April.  I  found  here  your  kind  letter  of  the  4th  of  that 
month,  acknowledging,  much  more  than  they  deserved,  my  little 
attentions  to  you.  Their  only  merit  was  their  being  faithful 
testimonies  of  a  sincere  regard  for  you.  The  obligations  have, 
in  fact,  been  on  my  side,  and  I  shall  ever  consider  it  as  such.  I 
sincerely  wish  that  on  your  arrival  in  America,  your  own  prefer- 
ence may  be  gratified  by  an  appointment  on  that  side  of  the 
water,  to  which  your  inclinations  lead  you.  I  have  received  the 
books  and  papers  you  mention,  and  will  undertake  to  have  fin- 
ished what  you  left  undone  of  the  medals,  or  at  least  will  proceed 
in  it,  till  the  matter  shall  be  put  into  better  hands.  My  princi- 
pal object  in  my  journey  to  London  was  accomplished  by  ar- 
rangements with  Portugal.  They  are  almost  exactly  in  the  terms 
of  those  with  Prussia  ;  except  that  the  general  license  to  trade  is 
restrained  to  those  places  where  any  foreign  nation  is  admitted. 
The  Tripoline  offered  peace  for  30,000  guineas  for  Tripoli,  and 
as  many  for  Tunis.  Calculating  on  this  scale,  Morocco  should 
ask  60,000,  and  Algiers  120,000.  England  declines  all  arrange- 
ments with  us.  They  say  their  commerce  is  so  necessary  to  us, 


560  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

that  we  shall  not  deny  it  to  ourselves  for  the  sake  of  the  carrying 
business,  as  the  only  trade  they  leave  us  is  that  with  Great  Brit- 
ain immediately,  and  that  is  a  losing  one.  I  hope  we  shall 
show  them  we  have  sense  and  spirit  enough  to  suppress  that,  or 
at  least  tg  exclude  them  from  any  share  in  the  carriage  of  our 
commodities.  Their  spirit  towards  us  is  deeply  hostile,  and 
they  seem  as  if  they  did  not  fear  a  war  with  us.  Should  such 
an  event  become  necessary,  we  have  need  of  but  only  one  reso- 
lution to  place  us  on  sure  ground.  That  is,  to  abandon  that  ele- 
ment where  they  are  strong  and  we  nothing  ;  and  to  decide  the 
contest  on  terra  firma,  where  we  have  all  to  gain,  and  can  lose 
nothing.  The  death  of  the  King  of  Prussia  is  constantly  ex- 
pected. Perhaps  that  event  may  bring  on  a  general  broil.  I 
am  too  lately  returned  here  to  be  able  to  give  you  any  of  the 
news  of  the  place.  I  shall  hope  to  hear  from  you  soon  and 
often,  and  am,  with  sincere  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and 
servant. 


TO    JAMES    ROSS. 

PAKIS,  May  8,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  duly  received  your  favor  of  October  the 
22d,  and  am  much  gratified  by  the  communications  therein  made. 
It  has  given  me  details,  which  do  not  enter  into  the  views  of 
my  ordinary  correspondents,  and  which  are  very  entertaining.  I 
experience  great  satisfaction  at  seeing  my  country  proceed  to 
facilitate  the  intercommunications  of  its  several  parts,  by  opening 
rivers,  canals  and  roads.  How  much  more  rational  is  this  disposal 
of  public  money,  than  that  of  waging  war. 

Before  the  receipt  of  your  letter,  Morris's  contract  for  sixty 
thousand  hogsheads  of  tobacco  was  concluded  with  the  Farmers 
General.  I  have  been  for  some  time  occupied  in  endeavoring  to 
destroy  the  root  of  the  evils,  which  the  tobacco  trade  encounters 
in  this  country,  by  making  the  ministers  sensible,  that  merchants 
will  not  bring  a  commodity  to  a  market,  where  but  one  person  is 


CORRESPONDENCE.  561 

allowed  to  buy  it ;  and  that  so  long  as  that  single  purchaser  is 
obliged  to  go  to  foreign  markets  for  it,  he  must  pay  for  it  in  coin, 
and  not  in  commodities.  These  truths  have  made  their  way 
to  the  minds  of  the  ministry,  insomuch,  as  to  have  delayed  the 
execution  of  the  new  lease  of  the  Farms,  six  months.  It  is  re- 
newed, however,  for  three  years,  but  so  as  not  to  render  impossi- 
ble a  reformation  of  this  great  evil.  They  are  sensible  of  the 
evil,  but  it  is  so  interwoven  with  their  fiscal  system,  that  they 
find  it  hazardous  to  disentangle.  The  temporary  distress,  too, 
of  the  revenue,  they  are  not  prepared  to  meet.  My  hopes,  there- 
fore, are  weak,  though  not  quite  desperate.  When  they  become 
so,  it  will  remain  to  look  about  for  the  best  palliative  this  monop- 
oly can  bear.  My  present  idea  is,  that  it  will  be  found  in  a 
prohibition  to  the  Farmers  General,  to  purchase  tobacco  anywhere 
but  in  France.  You  will  perceive  by  this,  that  my  object  is  to 
strengthen  the  connection  between  this  country  and  my  own,  in 
all  useful  points.  I  am  of  opinion  that  twenty-three  thousand 
hogsheads  of  tobacco,  the  annual  consumption  of  this  country, 
do  not  exceed  the  amount  of  those  commodities  which  it  is  more 
advantageous  to  us  to  buy  here  than  in  England,  or  elsewhere  ; 
and  such  a  commerce  would  powerfully  reinforce  the  motives  for 
a  friendship  from  this  country  towards  ours.  This  friendship  we 
ought  to  cultivate  closely,  considering  the  present  dispositions  of 
England  towards  us. 

I  am  lately  returned  from  a  visit  to  that  country.  The  spirit 
of  hostility  to  us  has  always  existed  in  the  mind  of  the  King, 
but  it  has  now  extended  itself  through  the  whole  mass  of  the 
people,  and  the  majority  in  the  public  councils.  In  a  country, 
where  the  voice  of  the  people  influence  so  much  the  measures  of 
administration,  and  where  it  coincides  with  the  private  temper  of 
the  King,  there  is  no  pronouncing  on  future  events.  It  is  true 
they  have  nothing  to  gain,  and  much  to  lose  by  a  war  with  us. 
But  interest  is  not  the  strongest  passion  in  the  human  breast. 
There  are  difficult  points,  too,  still  unsettled  between  us.  They 
have  not  withdrawn  their  armies  out  of  our  country,  nor  given 
satisfaction  for  the  property  they  brought  off.  On  our  part,  we 

VOL.  i.  36 


562  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

have  not  paid  our  debts,  and  it  will  take  time  to  pay  them.  In 
conferences  with  some  distinguished  mercantile  characters,  I 
found  them  sensible  of  the  impossibility  of  our  paying  these  debts 
at  once,  and  that  an  endeavor  to  force  universal  and  immediate 
payment,  would  render  debts  desperate,  which  are  good  in  them- 
selves. I  think  we  should  not  have  differed  in  the  term  necessary. 
We  differed  essentially  in  the  article  of  interest.  For  while  the 
principal,  and  interest  preceding  and  subsequent  to  the  war,  seem 
justly  due  from  us,  that  which  accrued  during  the  war  does  not. 
Interest  is  a  compensation  for  the  use  of  money.  Their  money, 
in  our  hands,  was  in  the  form  of  lands  and  negroes.  Tobacco, 
the  produce  of  these  lands  and  negroes  (or  as  I  may  call  it,  the 
interest  of  them),  being  almost  impossible  of  conveyance  to  the 
markets  of  consumption,  because  taken  by  themselves  in  its  way 
there,  sold  during  the  war,  at  five  or  six  shillings  the  hundred. 
This  did  not  pay  taxes,  and  for  tools  and  other  plantation  charges. 
A  man  who  should  have  attempted  to  remit  to  his  creditor  tobacco, 
for  either  principal  or  interest,  must  have  remitted  it  three  times 
before  one  cargo  would  have  arrived  safe ;  and  this  from  the  de- 
predations of  their  own  nation,  and  often  of  the  creditor  himself; 
for  some  of  the  merchants  entered  deeply  into  the  privateering 
business.  The  individuals,  who  did  not,  say  they  have  lost  this 
interest ;  the  debtor  replies,  that  he  has  not  gained  it,  and  that  it 
is  a  case,  where  a  loss  having  been  incurred,  every  one  tries  to 
shift  it  from  himself.  The  known  bias  of  the  human  mind  from 
motives  of  interest  should  lessen  the  confidence  of  each  party 
in  the  justice  of  their  reasoning  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  say,  which 
of  them  should  make  the  sacrifice,  both  of  reason  and  interest. 
Our  conferences  were  intended  as  preparatory  to  some  arrange- 
ment. It  is  uncertain  how  far  we  should  have  been  able  to  ac- 
commodate our  opinions.  Bat  the  absolute  aversion  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  enter  into  any  arrangement  prevented  the  object  from 
being  pursued.  Each  country  is  left  to  do  justice  to  itself  and  to 
the  other,  according  to  its  own  ideas,  as  to  what  is  past ;  and  to 
scramble  for  the  future,  as  well  as  they  can ;  to  regulate  their 
commerce  by  duties  and  prohibitions,  and  perhaps  by  cannons 


CORRESPONDENCE.  563 

and  mortars ;  in  which  event,  we  must  abandon  the  ocean,  where 
we  are  weak,  leaving  to  neutral  nations  the  carriage  of  our  com- 
modities ;  and  measure  with  them  on  land,  where  they  alone  can 
lose.  Farewell,  then,  all  our  useful  improvements  of  canals  and 
roads,  reformations  of  laws,  and  other  rational  employments.  I 
really  doubt  whether  there  is  temper  enough,  on  either  side,  to 
prevent  this  issue  of  our  present  hatred.  Europe  is,  at  this  mo- 
ment, without  the  appearance  of  a  cloud.  The  death  of  the 
King  of  Prussia,  daily  expected,  may  raise  one.  My  paper  ad- 
monishes me,  that  after  asking  a  continuance  of  your  favors,  it  is 
time  for  me  to  conclude  with  assurances  of  the  esteem  with 
which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    T.    PLEASANTS. 

PARIS,  May  8,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — At  the  time  of  the  receipt  of  your  favor  of  Octo- 
ber the  24th,  the  contract  between  the  Farmers  General  and  Mr. 
Morris,  for  tobacco,  was  concluded,  and  in  a  course  of  execution. 
There  was  no  room,  therefore,  to  offer  the  proposals  which  ac- 
companied your  letter.  I  was  moreover  engaged  in  endeavors  to 
have  the  monopoly,  in  the  purchase  of  this  article,  in  this  coun- 
try, suppressed.  My  hopes  on  that  subject  are  not  desperate,  but 
neither  are  they  flattering.  I  consider  it  as  the  most  effectual 
means  of  procuring  the  full  value  of  our  produce,  of  diverting 
our  demands  for  manufactures  from  Great  Britain  to  this  coun- 
try to  a  certain  amount,  and  of  thus  producing  some  equilibrium 
in  our  commerce,  which,  at  present,  lies  all  in  the  British  scale. 
It  would  cement  an  union  with  our  friends,  and  lessen  the  torrent 
of  wealth  which  we  are  pouring  into  the  laps  of  our  enemies. 
For  my  part,  I  think  that  the  trade  with  Great  Britain  is  a  ruin- 
ous one  to  ourselves ;  and  that  nothing  would  be  an  inducement 
to  tolerate  it,  but  a  free  commerce  with  their  West  Indies ;  and 
that  this  being  denied  to  us,  we  should  put  a  stop  to  the  losing 


564  JEFFERSON'S    WOEKS. 

branch.  The  question  is,  whether  they  are  right  in  their  prog- 
nostications that  we  have  neither  resolution  nor  union  enough 
for  this.  Everything  I  hear  from  my  own  country,  fills  me  with 
despair  as  to  their  recovery  from  their  vassalage  to  Great  Britain. 
Fashion  and  folly  are  plunging  them  deeper  and  deeper  into  dis- 
tress ;  and  the  legislators  of  the  country  becoming  debtors  also, 
there  seems  no  hope  of  applying  the  only  possible  remedy,  that  of 
an  immediate  judgment  and  execution.  We  should  try  whether 
the  prodigal  might  not  be  restrained  from  taking  on  credit  the 
gewgaw  held  out  to  him  in  one  hand,  by  seeing  the  keys  of  a 
prison  in  the  other.  Be  pleased  to  present  my  respects  to  Mrs. 
Pleasants,  and  to  be  assured  of  the  esteem  with  which  I  am,  dear 
Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    COLONEL    MONROE. 

PARIS,  May  10,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — My  last  to  you  was  of  January  the  27th.  Since 
that  I  have  received  yours  of  January  the  19th.  Information 
from  other  quarters  gives  me  reason  to  suspect  you  have  in  nego- 
tiation a  very  important  change  in  your  situation.  You  will  carry 
into  its  execution  all  my  wishes  for  your  happiness.  I  hope  it 
will  not  detach  you  from  a  settlement  in  your  own  country.  I 
had  even  entertained  hopes  of  your  settling  in  my  neighborhood, 
but  these  were  determined  by  your  desiring  a  plan  of  a  house  for 
Richmond.  However  reluctantly  I  relinquish  this  prospect,  I 
shall  not  the  less  readily  obey  your  commands  by  sending  you  a 
plan.  Having  been  much  engaged  since  my  return  from  Eng- 
land in  answering  letters  and  despatching  other  business  which 
had  accumulated  during  my  absence,  and  being  still  much  en- 
gaged, perhaps  I  may  not  be  able  to  send  the  plan  by  this  con- 
veyance. If  I  do  not  send  it  now,  I  will  surely  by  the  next 
conveyance  after  this.  Your  Encyclopedic,  containing  eighteen 
livraisons,  went  off  last  night  for  Havre,  from  whence  it  will  go 
in  a  vessel  bound  to  New  York.  It  will  be  under  the  care  of 


CORRESPONDENCE.  565 

M.  La  Croix,  a  passenger,  who,  if  he  does  not  find  you  in  New 
York,  will  carry  it  to  Virginia,  and  send  it  to  Richmond.  An- 
other copy,  in  a  separate  box,  goes  for  Currie.  I  pay  here  all 
charges  to  New  York.  What  may  occur  afterwards,  I  desire  him 
to  ask  either  of  you  or  Currie,  as  either  will  pay  for  the  other,  or 
to  draw  on  me  for  them. 

My  letters  to  Mr.  Jay  will  have  informed  you  of  the  objects 
which  carried  me  to  England ;  and  that  the  principal  one,  the 
treaty  with  Portugal,  has  been  accomplished.  Though  we  were 
unable  to  procure  any  special  advantages  in  that,  yet  we  thought 
it  of  consequence  to  insure  our  trade  against  those  particular 
checks  and  discouragements  which  it  has  heretofore  met  with 
there.  The  information  as  to  the  Barbary  States,  which  we  ob- 
tained from  Abdrahaman,  the  Tripoline  ambassador,  was  also 
given  to  Mr.  Jay.  If  it  be  right,  and  the  scale  of  proportion  be- 
tween those  nations,  which  we  had  settled,  be  also  right,  eight 
times  the  sum  required  by  Tripoli  will  be  necessary  to  accom- 
plish a  peace  with  the  whole,  that  is  to  say,  about  two  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  guineas.  The  continuance  of  this  peace  will 
depend  on  their  idea  of  our  power  to  enforce  it,  and  on  the  life 
of  the  particular  Dey,  or  other  head  of  the  government,  with 
whom  it  is  contracted.  Congress  will,  no  doubt,  weigh  these 
circumstances  against  the  expense,  and  probable  success  of  com- 
pelling a  peace  by  arms.  Count  d'Estaing  having  communicated 
to  me  verbally  some  information  as  to  an  experiment  formerly 
made  by  this  country,  I  shall  get  him  to  put  it  into  writing,  and 
I  will  forward  it  to  Congress,  as  it  may  aid  them  in  their  choice 
of  measures.  However,  which  plan  is  most  eligible  can  only 
be  known  to  yourselves,  who  are  on  the  spot,  and  have  under 
your  view  all  the  difficulties  of  both.  There  is  a  third  meas- 
ure, that  of  abandoning  the  Mediterranean  carriage  to  other 
nations. 

With  respect  to  England,  no  arrangements  can  be  taken.  The 
merchants  were  certainly  disposed  to  have  consented  to  accom- 
modation as  to  the  article  of  debts.  I  was  not  certain,  when  I 
left  England,  that  they  would  relinquish  the  interest  during  the 


566  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

war.  A  letter  received  since,  from  the  first  character  among  the 
American  merchants  in  Scotland,  satisfies  me  they  would  have- 
relinquished  it  to  insure  the  capital  and  residue  of  interest 
Would  to  heaven  all  the  States,  therefore,  would  settle  a  uniform 
plan.  To  open  the  courts  to  them,  so  that  they  might  obtain 
judgments ;  to  divide  the  executions  into  so  many  equal  annual 
instalments,  as  that  the  last  might  be  paid  in  the  year  1790 ;  to 
have  the  payments  in  actual  money ;  and, to  include  the  capital, 
and  interest  preceding  and  subsequent  to  the  war,  would  give 
satisfaction  to  the  world,  and  to  the  merchants  in  general.  Since 
it  is  left  for  each  nation  to  pursue  their  own  measures  in  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  late  treaty,  may  not  Congress  with  propriety  recom- 
mend a  mode  of  executing  that  article  respecting  the  debts,  and 
send  it  to  each  State  to  be  passed  into  law.  Whether  England 
gives  up  the  posts  or  not,  these  debts  must  be  paid,  or  our  char- 
acter stained  with  infamy  among  all  nations  and  through  all  time. 
As  to  the  satisfaction  for  slaves  carried  off,  it  is  a  bagatelle,  which, 
if  not  made  good  before  the  last  instalment  becomes  due,  may 
be  secured  out  of  that. 

I  formerly  communicated  the  overtures  for  a  treaty  which  had 
been  made  by  the  imperial  ambassador.  The  instructions  from 
Congress  being  in  their  favor,  and  Mr.  Adams'  opinion  also,  I 
encouraged  them.  He  expected  his  full  powers  when  I  went  to 
England.  Yet  I  did  not  think,  nor  did  Mr.  Adams,  that  this  was 
of  importance  enough  to  weigh  against  the  objects  of  that  jour- 
ney. He  received  them  soon  after  my  departure,  and  communi- 
cated it  to  me  on  my  return,  asking  a  copy  of  our  propositions. 
I  gave  him  one,  but  observed  our  commission  had  then  but  a  few 
days  to  run.  He  desired  I  should  propose  to  Congress  the  giving 
new  powers  to  go  on  with  this,  and  said,  that  in  the  meantime 
he  would  arrange  with  us  the  plan.  In  a  commercial  view,  no 
great  good  is  to  be  gained  by  this ;  but  in  a  political  one,  it  may 
be  expedient.  As  the  treaty  would,  of  course,  be  in  the  terms 
of  those  of  Prussia  and  Portugal,  it  will  give  us  but  little  addi- 
tional embarrassment  in  any  commercial  regulations  we  may  wish 
to  establish.  The  exceptions  from  these,  which  the  other  trea- 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

ties  will  require,  may  take  in  the  treaty  with  the  Emperor.  I 
should  be  glad  to  communicate  some  answer  as  soon  as  Congress 
shall  have  made  up  their  minds  on  it.  My  information  to  Con- 
gress on  the  subject  of  our  commercial  articles  with  this  country 
has  only  come  down  to  January  the  27th.  Whether  I  shall  say 
anything  on  it  in  my  letter  to  Mr.  Jay  by  this  conveyance,  de- 
pends on  its  not  being  too  early  for  an  appointment  I  expect 
hourly  from  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  to  meet  him  on  this  and 
other  subjects.  My  last  information  was,  that  the  lease  was  too 
far  advanced  to  withdraw  from  it  the  article  of  tobacco,  but  that 
a  clause  is  inserted  in  it,  empowering  the  King  to  discontinue  it 
at  any  time.  A  discontinuance  is,  therefore,  the  only  remaining 
object,  and  as  even  this  cannot  be  effected  till  the  expiration  of 
the  old  lease,  which  is  about  the  end  of  the  present  year,  I  have 
wished  only  to  stir  the  subject  from  time  to  time,  so  as  to  keep 
it  alive.  This  idea  led  me  into  a  measure  proposed  by  the  Mar- 
quis de  La  Fayette,  whose  return  from  Berlin  found  the  matter 
at  that  point,  to  which  my  former  report  to  Congress  had  con- 
ducted it.  I  communicated  to  him  what  I  had  been  engaged  on. 
what  were  my  prospects,  and  my  purpose  of  keeping  the  subject 
just  open.  He  offered  his  services  with  that  zeal  which  com* 
mands  them  on  every  occasion  respecting  America.  He  sug- 
gested to  me  the  meeting  two  or  three  gentlemen,  well  acquainted 
with  this  business.  We  met.  They  urged  me  to  propose  to  the 
Count  de  Vergennes,  the  appointing  a  committee  to  take  the  mat- 
ter into  consideration.  I  told  them  that  decency  would  not  per- 
mit me  to  point  out  to  the  Count  de  Vergennes  the  mode  by 
which  he  should  conduct  a  negotiation,  but  that  I  would  press 
again  the  necessity  of  an  arrangement,  if,  whilst  that  should  be 
operating  on  his  mind,  they  would  suggest  the  appointment  of  a 
committee.  The  Marquis  offered  his  services  for  this  purpose. 
The  consequence  was  the  appointment  of  a  committee,  and  the 
Marquis  as  a  member  of  it.  I  communicated  to  him  my  papers. 
He  collected  other  lights  wherever  he  could,  and  particularly 
from  the  gentlemen  with  whom  we  had  before  concerted,  and 
who  had  a  good  acquaintance  with  the  subject.  The  Marquis 


568  JEFFERSON'S   WORKS. 

became  our  champion  in  the  committee,  and  two  of  its  members, 
who  were  of  the  corps  of  Farmers  General,  entered  the  lists  on 
the  other  side.  Each  gave  in  memorials.  The  lease,  indeed, 
was  signed  while  I  was  gone  to  England,  but  the  discussions 
were,  and  still  are  continued  in  the  committee,  from  which  we 
derive  two  advantages :  first,  that  of  showing  that  the  object  is 
not  to  be  relinquished ;  and  second,  that  of  enlightening  govern- 
ment as  to  its  true  interest.  The  Count  de  Vergennes  is  abso- 
lutely for  it ;  but  it  is  not  in  his  department.  Calonnes  is  his 
friend,  and  in  this  instance  his  principle  seems  to  be,  Arnica  veri- 
taSj  sed  magis  amicus  Plato.  An  additional  hope  is  founded  in 
the  expectation  of  a  change  of  the  minister  of  finance.  The 
present  one  is  under  the  absolute  control  of  the  Farmers  General. 
The  committee's  views  have  been  somewhat  different  from  mine. 
They  despair  of  a  suppression  of  the  Farm,  and  therefore  wish 
to  obtain  palliatives,  which  would  coincide  with  the  particular 
good  of  this  country.  I  think  that  so  long  as  the  monopoly  in 
the  sale  is  kept  up,  it  is  of  no  consequence  to  us  how  they  mod- 
ify the  pill  for  their  own  internal  relief ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
worse  it  remains,  the  more  necessary  it  will  render  a  reformation. 
Any  palliative  would  take  from  us  all  those  arguments  and 
friends,  that  would  be  satisfied  with  accommodation.  The  Mar- 
quis, though  differing  in  opinion  from  me  on  this  point,  has,  how- 
ever, adhered  to  my  principle  of  absolute  liberty  or  nothing.  In 
this  condition  is  the  matter  at  this  moment.  Whether  I  say 
anything  on  the  subject  to  Mr.  Jay  will  depend  on  my  interview 
with  the  Count  de  Vergennes.  I  doubt  whether  that  will  fur- 
nish anything  worth  communicating,  and  whether  it  will  be  in 
time.  I  therefore  state  thus  much  to  you,  that  you  may  see 
the  matter  is  not  laid  aside. 

I  must  beg  leave  to  recommend  Colonel  Humphreys  to  your 
acquaintance  and  good  offices.  He  is  an  excellent  man,  an  able 
one,  and  in  need  of  some  provision.  Besides  former  applications 
to  me  in  favor  of  Dumas,  the  Rhingrave  of  Salm  (the  effective 
minister  of  the  government  of  Holland,  while  their  two  ambas- 
sadors here  are  ostensible)  who  is  conducting  secret  arrangements 


CORRESPONDENCE.  569 

for  them  with  this  court,  presses  his  interests  on  us.  It  is  evi- 
dent the  two  governments  make  a  point  of  it.  You  ask  why 
they  do  not  provide  for  him  themselves  ?  I  am  not  able  to  an- 
swer the  question,  but  by  a  conjecture  that  Dumas's  particular 
ambition  prefers  an  appointment  from  us.  I  know  all  the  diffi- 
culty of  this  application  which  Congress  has  to  encounter.  I 
see  the  reasons  against  giving  him  the  primary  appointment  at 
that  court,  and  the  difficulty  of  his  accommodating  himself  to  a 
subordinate  one.  Yet  I  think  something  must  be  done  in  it  to 
gratify  this  court,  of  which  we  must  be  always  asking  favors. 
In  these  countries,  personal  favors  weigh  more  than  public  in- 
terest. The  minister  who  has  asked  a  gratification  for  Dumas, 
has  embarked  his  own  feelings  and  reputation  in  that  demand. 
I  do  not  think  it  was  discreet  by  any  means.  But  this  reflec- 
tion might,  perhaps,  aggravate  a  disappointment.  I  know  not  re- 
ally what  you  can  do ;  but  yet  hope  something  will  be  done. 
Adieu,  my  dear  Sir,  and  believe  me  to  be  yours,  affectionately. 


TO    JOHN    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  May  11,  If  86. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  do  myself  the  honor  of  enclosing  to  you  letters 
which  came  to  hand  last  night,  from  Mr.  Lambe,  Mr.  Carmichael 
and  Mr.  Barclay.  By  these  you  will  perceive  that  our  peace  is  riot 
to  be  purchased  at  Algiers  but  at  a  price  far  beyond  our  powers. 
What  that  would  be,  indeed,  Mr.  Lambe  does  not  say,  nor  prob- 
ably does  he  know.  But,  as  he  knew  our  ultimatum,  we  are  to 
suppose  from  his  letter,  that  it  would  be  a  price  infinitely  beyond 
that.  A  reference  to  Congress  hereon  seems  to  be  necessary.  Till 
that  can  be  obtained,  Mr.  Lambe  must  be  idle  at  Algiers,  Cartha- 
gena,  or  elsewhere.  Would  he  not  be  better  employed  in  going 
to  Congress  ?  They  would  be  able  to  draw  from  him  and  Mr. 
Randall,  the  information  necessary  to  determine  what  they  will  do. 
And  if  they  determine  to  negotiate,  they  can  re-appoint  the  same, 


570  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

or  appoint  a  new  negotiator,  according  to  the  opinion  they  shall 
form  on  their  examination.  1  suggest  this  to  you  as  my  first 
thoughts ;  an  ultimate  opinion  should  not  be  formed  till  we  see 
Mr.  Randall,  who  may  be  shortly  expected.  In  the  meantime, 
should  an  opportunity  occur,  favor  me  with  your  ideas  hereon, 
that  we  may  be  maturing  our  opinions.  I  shall  send  copies  of 
these  three  letters  to  Mr.  Jay,  by  the  packet  which  sails  from 

L'Orient  the  first  of  next  month. 

********** 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  most 
obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    MESSRS.   ST.  VICTOUR    AND    BETTINGER. 

PARIS,  May  12,  1786. 

GENTLEMEN, — On  my  return  from  London,  which  was  but  a 
few  days  ago,  I  found  your  letter  of  April  8th.  I  communicated 
it  to  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  to  whom,  equally  with  myself, 
an  attention  to  the  purchase  of  arms  has  been  recommended  by 
the  State  of  Virginia.  Before  we  can  order  the  receipt  of  the 
arms  at  Bourdeaux,  we  are  of  opinion  they  should  previously  go 
through  all  the  examinations  and  proofs  usually  practised  with 
the  King's  arms.  As  the  Marquis  is  best  acquainted  with  the  de- 
tail of  these,  I  have  asked  and  obtained  his  leave  to  refer  you  to 
him  on  the  subject.  You  will,  therefore,  be  so  good  as  to 
confer  with  him  thereon.  I  have  an  opportunity  of  writing  to 
the  Governor  of  Virginia  to-morrow,  and  I  should  be  well  pleased 
to  be  able  to  inform  him  what  number  of  arms  you  have  now 
ready  to  deliver,  and  what  other  numbers  you  expect  to  deliver, 
with  the  epochs  of  delivery.  If  you  could  give  me  this  infor- 
mation by  the  return  of  the  bearer,  at  any  time  to-day,  it  would 
much  oblige,  Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  571 


TO    HONORABLE    J.  JAY. 

PARIS,  May  12,  1786. 

SIR, — The  last  letters  I  had  the  honor  of  addressing  you  from 
this  place  were  of  the  2d  and  27th  of  January.  Those  from 
London  were  of  the  12th  of  March,  and  23d  of  April. 

In  the  month  of  February,  the  Baron  de  Blome,  minister  plen- 
ipotentiary at  this  court  from  Denmark,  informed  me  that  he  was 
instructed  by  his  court  to  give  notice  to  the  ministers  from  the 
United  States,  appointed  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  commerce  with 
them  that  the  Baron  de  Waltersdorff,  formerly  commissioned 
by  them  for  the  same  purpose,  had  received  another  destination, 
which  called  him  to  the  West  Indies  that  they  were  sensible 
of  the  advantages  which  would  arise  to  the  two  countries  from 
a  commercial  intercourse — that  their  ports  accordingly  were  placed 
on  a  very  free  footing,  as  they  supposed  ours  to  be  also — that  they 
supposed  the  commerce  on  each  part  might  be  well  conducted  under 
the  actual  arrangements,  but  that  whenever  any  circumstances 
should  arise  which  would  render  particular  stipulations  more  eli- 
gible, they  would  be  ready  to  concur  with  the  United  States  in 
establishing  them,  being  desirous  of  continuing  on  the  terms  of 
the  strictest  harmony  and  friendship  with  them. 

In  my  letter  of  Jan.  27th,  I  informed  you  of  what  had  passed 
between  the  Imperial  Ambassador  and  Secretary  of  Embassy  and 
myself,  on  the  subject  of  the  treaty  with  their  sovereign.  The 
Ambassador  was  in  hourly  expectation  of  receiving  his  full  pow- 
ers when  I  was  called  to  London.  Though  I  had  received  Mr. 
Adams's  opinion  in  favor  of  our  proceeding  in  the  treaty,  yet  it 
was  neither  his  nor  my  opinion  that  this  object  should  overweigh 
those  which  called  me  to  London.  A  treaty  with  Portugal  was 
more  important,  exclusive  of  what  was  to  be  done  with  England 
and  the  States  of  Barbary.  On  my  return  to  Paris,  the  Secretary 
called  on  me  to  inform  me  the  Ambassador  had  received  his  full 
powers  very  soon  after  my  departure,  and  was  now  ready  to  begin 
on  our  arrangements ;  that  he  was  sensible,  however,  that  these 


572  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

could  not  be  settled  before  our  commission  would  expire,  but  as 
he  supposed  Congress  would  be  willing  to  renew  it,  we  might 
proceed  to  confer  together,  leaving  the  effect  of  our  conferences 
to  rest  on  the  event  of  a  removal  of  the  commission.  He  asked,  also. 
a  draft  of  our  propositions  as  a  ground  work  to  proceed  on.  I  met 
with  the  Ambassador  a  few  days  after.  He  said  the  same  things 
in  substance,  and  concluded  by  asking  our  propositions.  I  gave 
him  a  draught,  which  was  a  copy  of  what  we  had  originally  pro- 
posed to  Denmark,  with  such  alterations  as  had  occurred,  and 
been  approved  in  our  negotiations  with  Prussia,  Tuscany  and 
Portugal. 

The  enclosed  letters  of  December  9th  and  January  18th,  from 
O'Bryan,  of  February  24th,  March  12th,  20th,  23d,  27th,  31st, 
April  8th  and  10th  from  Mr.  Barclay,  of  March  29th  from  Mr. 
Lambe,  and  February  3d  and  April  12th  from  Mr.  Carmichael, 
will  put  you  in  possession  of  my  latest  intelligence  of  the  affairs 
of  Morocco  and  Algiers.  You  will  perceive  by  them  that  Mr. 
Randall  may  be  daily  expected  here.  If  the  propositions  to  Al- 
giers appear  from  his  account  to  be  as  unhopeful  as  Mr.  Lambe 
seems  to  consider  them,  it  is  not  impossible  that  Mr.  Adams  and 
myself  may  think  that,  instead  of  remaining  at  Carthagena,  as 
Mr.  Lambe  proposes,  it  will  be  better  for  him  to  proceed  to  Con- 
gress. Without  occasioning  any  loss  of  time,  this  will  offer  the 
two  advantages  of  giving  them  all  the  information  he  may  be 
possessed  of,  and  of  putting  it  in  their  power  to  appoint  any  ne- 
gotiator they  may  think  proper,  should  they  find  negotiations  still 
eligible.  However,  Mr.  Adams  and  myself  shall  have  better 
grounds  to  decide  on  when  we  shall  receive  the  information  from 
Mr.  Randall. 

Colonel  Humphreys  carried  you  the  London  Gazette  to  the  be- 
ginning of  April.  I  now  enclose  it  from  that  to  the  present  date, 
together  with  the  Gazette  of  France  from  February  3d,  to  May 
12th.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest 
esteem  and  respect,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble 
servant. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  573 


TO    THE    HONORABLE    MR.    JAY. 

PARIS,  May  22,  T/86. 

SIR, — The  duty  has  been  imposed  on  me  of  making  the  fol- 
lowing communication  to  Congress.  It  is  necessary  for  me  pre- 
viously to  observe  that,  though  the  government  of  the  United 
Netherlands  have  both  an  ordinary  and  an  extraordinary  ambas- 
sador here,  yet  the  Patriotic  party,  now  decisively  possessed  of  the 
powers  of  government,  have  sent  hither  the  Rhingrave  de  Salm, 
as  possessing  their  plenary  confidence,  to  treat  with  this  Court  on 
some  matters  not  yet  made  known  to  the  public.  His  character 
and  credit  accordingly  are  so  well  known  here,  that,  passing  by 
the  regular  ambassador,  they  are  actually  in  negotiation  with 
him.  He  took  occasion  to  speak  with  me  to-day  on  the  subject 
of  Mr.  Dumas.  After  saying  much  in  his  favor,  he  assured  me 
that  Congress  could  not  so  much  oblige  the  Patriotic  party  as  by 
naming  Mr.  Dumas  to  their  diplomatic  appointment  at  the 
Hague ;  and,  further,  that  should  they  have  anything  interesting 
to  do  there,  there  was  no  other  man  who  could  do  it  so  effectually 
as  Mr.  Dumas.  I  wished  to  avoid  flattering  his  expectations, 
and  therefore  mentioned  to  him  the  resolution  of  Congress  con- 
fining their  diplomatic  appointments  to  citizens  of  the  United 
States.  He  seemed  to  admit  they  could  not  expect  him  to  be 
made  minister  plenipotentiary,  but  asked  if  it  would  not  be  pos- 
sible to  give  him  another  character.  I  told  him  we  were  in  the 
usage  of  appointing  only  one  character  inferior  to  that  of  minis- 
ter plenipotentiary,  which  was  that  of  charge  des  affaires.  That 
I  was  far  from  presuming  to  say  that  could  be  obtained  in  the 
present  case  ;  but  that  one  other  difficulty  occurred  to  me  in  that 
moment.  I  observed  that  they  had  a  minister  plenipotentiary 
with  Congress,  and  that  Congress,  naming  for  their  Court  only  a 
charge  des  affaires,  might,  perhaps,  be  considered  as  disrespectful, 
and  might  occasion  the  recall  of  their  minister.  He  assured  me 

O 

it  could  not ;  nay,  that  it  should  not.  We  are,  continued  he,  but 
a  party,  and  therefore  cannot  make  a  general  declaration  on  this 
subject ;  but  we  know  how  far  we  can  undertake ;  and,  if  you 


574  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

please,  the  members  of  our  party  shall  go  and  make  a  declaration 
privately  before  the  French  ambassador  at  our  Court,  that  nothing 
amiss  shall  be  conceived  of  it.  I  told  him  this  would  not  be 
desired.  He  asked  me  if  I  thought  Count  de  Vergennes'  writing 
a  second  letter  on  this  subject  would  be  of  service.  I  told  him 
not  to  suppose  a  repetition  of  his  application  could  be  material. 
My  object  in  avoiding  a  second  letter  from  the  Count  de  Vergen- 
nes as  well  as  the  declaration  before  the  French  ambassador,  was 
that  embarrassments  might  not  be  multiplied,  if  Congress  should 
not  think  proper  to  comply  with  their  request.  He  concluded 
by  desiring  I  would  urge  this  matter  to  Congress.  It  seems  cer- 
tain that  Mr.  Dumas  has  rendered  himself  very  useful  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  both  France  and  Holland  in  the  late  negotiations.  It 
was  natural,  therefore,  that  these  governments  should  provide  for 
him.  I  know  not  how  it  has  happened  that  we  are  resorted  to  on 
the  occasion,  unless,  perhaps,  it  is  the  particular  wish  of  Mr.  Dumas 
to  receive  this  species  of  reward.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  reign- 
ing party  in  the  United  Netherlands,  and  the  government  of  this 
country,  commit  themselves  on  this  application,  and  it  becomes  a 
matter  of  calculation,  in  which  their  favor  and  the  occasions  we 
may  have  for  it, are  to  be  weighed  against  the  sacrifices  the  pres- 
ent application  call  for.  To  pronounce  on  this  would  be  beyond 
my  province,  which  is  merely  that  of  being  the  channel  of  com- 
munication. This  being  desired  in  form,  I  suppose  it  is  my  duty 
to  comply  with. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  most  perfect 
esteem  and  respect,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble 
servant. 


TO    JOHN    JAY. 

PARIS,  May  23,  1786. 

Sm, — Letters  received  both  from  Madrid  and  Algiers,  while  I 
was  in  London,  having  suggested  that  treaties  with  the  States  of 
Barbary  would  be  much  facilitated  by  a  previous  one  with  the 
Ottoman  porte,  it  was  agreed  between  Mr.  Adams  and  myself, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  575 

\ 

that,  on  my  return,  I  should  consult  on  this  subject  the  Count  de 
Vergennes,  whose  long  residence  at  Constantinople  rendered  him 
the  best  judge  of  its  expediency.  Various  circumstances  have 
put  it  out  of  my  power  to  consult  him,  till  to-day.  I  stated  to 
him  the  difficulties  we  were  likely  to  meet  with  at  Algiers ;  and 
asked  his  opinion  what  would  be  the  probable  expense  of  a  diplo- 
matic mission  to  Constantinople,  and  what  its  effect  at  Algiers.  He 
said  that  the  expense  would  be  very  great,  for  that  presents  must 
be  made  at  that  court,  and  every  one  would  be  gaping  after  them ; 
and  that  it  would  not  procure  us  a  peace  at  Algiers  one  penny 
the  cheaper.  He  observed  that  the  Barbary  States  acknowl- 
edged a  sort  of  vassalage  to  the  Porte,  and  availed  themselves 
of  that  relation,  when  anything  was  to  be  gained  by  it ;  but  that 
whenever  it  subjected  them  to  a  demand  from  the  Porte,  they  to- 
tally disregarded  it ;  that  money  was  the  sole  agent  at  Algiers, 
except  so  far  as  fear  could  be  induced  also.  He  cited  the  present 
example  of  Spain,  which, though  having  a  treaty  with  the  Porte, 
would  probably  be  obliged  to  buy  a  peace  at  Algiers,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  upwards  of  six  millions  of  livres.  I  told  him  we  had 
calculated  from  the  demands  and  information  of  the  Tripoline 
ambassador  at  London,  that  to  make  peace  with  the  four  Barbary 
States  would  cost  us  between  two  and  three  hundred  thousand 
guineas,  if  bought  with  money.  The  sum  did  not  seem  to  ex- 
ceed his  expectations.  I  mentioned  to  him  that,  considering  the 
uncertainty  of  a  peace,  when  bought,  perhaps  Congress  might 
think  it  more  eligible  to  establish  a  cruise  of  frigates  in  the  Me- 
diterranean, and  even  to  blockade  Algiers.  He  supposed  it  would 
require  ten  vessels,  great  and  small.  I  observed  to  him  that 
Monsieur  de  Massiac  had  formerly  done  it  with  five ;  he  said  it 
was  true,  but  that  vessels  of  relief  would  be  necessary.  I  hinted 
to  him  that  I  thought  the  English  capable  of  administering  aid 
to  the  Algerines.  He  seemed  to  think  it  impossible,  on  account 
of  the  scandal  it  would  bring  on  them.  I  asked  him  what  had 
occasioned  the  blockade  by  Monsieur  de  Massiac ;  he  said  an  in- 
fraction of  their  treaty  by  the  Algerines. 

I  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation  with  him,  also,  on  the  situa- 


576  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

tion  of  affairs  between  England  and  the  United  States ;  and 
particularly  on  their  refusal  to  deliver  up  our  posts.  I  observed 
to  him  that  the  obstructions  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  recovery 
of  their  debts  were  the  effect,  and  not  the  cause,  as  they  pre- 
tended, of  their  refusal  to  deliver  up  the  posts ;  that  the  mer- 
chants interested  in  these  debts,  showed  a  great  disposition  to 
make  arrangements  with  us ;  that  the  article  of  time  we  could 
certainly  have  settled,  and  probably  that  of  the  interest  during 
the  war ;  but  that  the  minister,  showing  no  disposition  to  have 
these  matters  arranged,  I  thought  it  a  sufficient  proof  that  this, 
was  not  the  true  cause  of  their  retaining  the  posts.  He  ccji- 
curred  as  to  the  justice  of  our  requiring  time  for  the  payment  of 
our  debts ;  said  nothing  which  showed  a  difference  of  opinion , 
as  to  the  article  of  interest,  and  seemed  to  believe  fully  that  their 
object  was  to  divert  the  channel  of  the  fur  trade,  before  they, 
delivered  up  the  posts,  and  expressed  a  strong  sense  of  the  im- 
portance of  that  commerce  to  us.  I  told  him  I  really  could  nof 
foresee  what  would  be  the  event  of  this  detention ;  that  the 
situation  of  the  British  funds,  and  the  desire  of  their  minister  to 
begin  to  reduce  the  national  debt,  seemed  to  indicate  that  they 
could  not  wish  a  war.  He  thought  so,  but  that  neither  were  we 
in  a  condition  to  go  to  war.  I  told  him  I  was  yet  uninformed 
what  Congress  proposed  to  do  on  this  subject,  but  that  we  should 
certainly  always  count  on  the  good  offices  of  France,  and  I  was 
sure  that  the  offer  of  them  would  suffice  to  induce  Great  Britain 
to  do  us  justice.  He  said  that  surely  we  might  always  count  on 
the  friendship  of  France.  I  added,  that  by  the  treaty  of  alliance, 
she  was  bound  to  guarantee  our  limits  to  us,  as  they  should  be 
established  at  the  moment  of  peace.  He  said  they  were  so, 
"  mats  qiCil  nous  etoit  necessaire  de  les  constatcr."  I  told  him 
there  was  no  question  what  our  boundaries  were  ;  that  the  Eng- 
lish themselves  admitted  they  were  clear  beyond  all  question. 
I  feared,  however,  to  press  this  any  further,  lest  a  reciprocal 
question  should  be  put  to  me,  and  therefore  diverted  the  conversa- 
tion to  another  object. 

This  is  a  sketch  only  of  a  conference  which  was  long.     I 


CORPvESPUNDENCE.  577 

have  endeavored  to  give  the  substance,  and  sometimes  the  ex- 
pressions, where  they  were  material.  I  supposed  it  would  be 
agreeable  to  Congress  to  have  it  communicated  to  them,  in  the 
present  undecided  state  in  which  these  subjects  are.  I  should 
add,  that  an  explanation  of  the  transaction  of  Monsieur  de 
Massiac  with  the  Algerines,  before  hinted  at,  will  be  found  in  the 
enclosed  letter  from  the  Count  d'Estaing  to  me,  wherein  he  gives 
also  his  own  opinion.  The  whole  is  submitted  to  Congress,  as 
I  conceive  it  my  duty  to  furnish  them  with  whatever  informa- 
tion I  can  gather,  which  may  throw  any  light  on  the  subjects 
depending  before  them. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  perfect  esteem  and 
respect,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    COUNT    DE    VERGENNES.* 

PARIS,  May  31,  1786. 

SIR, — I  have  been  honored  with  your  Excellency's  letter  of 
yesterday,  enclosing  a  copy  of  the  Resolutions  of  the  Committee 
on  the  subject  of  tobacco,  and  am  bound  to  make  my  acknowl- 
edgments for  this  attention  to  the  commerce  between  this  coun- 
try and  the  United  States,  which  will,  I  hope,  by  this  measure, 
be  kept  alive  till  more  simple  and  permanent  arrangements  be- 
come practicable.  I  have  communicated  it  to  Congress  by  an 
opportunity  which  offered  this  morning.  Perhaps  it  is  for  the 
want  of  information  that  I  apprehend  it  possible  for  the  London 
merchants,  availing  themselves  of  their  early  notice  of  this  regula- 
tion, and  their  proximity  to  the  port  of  France,  to  run  in  French 
vessels  the  whole  15,000  hogsheads  of  the  first  year,  before  the 
French  or  American  merchants  can  possibly  bring  them  from 
America.  This  might  defeat  the  end  of  the  regulation,  as  those 
merchants  would  take  payment  in  cash  and  not  in  merchandise. 
I  suppose  the  Committee  had  in  view  Tobaccos  coming  last 
from  a  port  of  the  United  States,  and  that  it  may  not  be  yet  too 

L*  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  for  France.] 
37 


578  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

late  to  restrain  the  orders  to  such  only.  Of  this  your  Excel- 
lency is  the  best  judge,  to  whom  I  have  the  honor  of  submitting 
the  doubt ;  and  am,  with  sentiments  of  the  most  profound  re- 
spect and  esteem,  your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most 
humble  servant. 


TO    M.    LA    MORLIENE. 

PARIS,  June  3,  1786. 

SIR, — It  is  six  years  since  the  paper  money  of  New  England 
has  ceased  to  circulate  as  money.  It  is  considered  at  present 
as  making  a  part  of  the  national  debt,  and  that  the  holders  of  it 
will  be  entitled  to  receive  from  the  public  as  much  gold  or  silver 
as  the  paper  money  could  have  brought  at  the  time  it  was  re- 
ceived by  the  holder,  with  an  interest  of  6  per  cent,  per  annum. 
But,  as  yet,  no  precise  arrangements  have  been  taken  for  the  pay- 
ment either  of  principal  or  interest.  Most  of  the  subjects  of 
France,  having  paper  money,  have  deposited  it  in  the  hands  of 
the  French  Minister  or  Council  at  New  York,  that  payment  may 
be  demanded  whenever  it  shall  be  provided  by  Congress. 
There  are  even  speculators  in  America  who  will  purchase  it. 
But  they  give  much  less  than  its  worth.  As  for  myself  I  do  not 
deal  in  it.  I  am,  Sir,  your  very  humble  servant. 


TO    MESSRS.    BUCHANAN    AND    HAT. 

PARIS,  June  15,  1786. 

GENTLEMEN, — The  model  of  the  Capitol  being  at  length  fin- 
ished, I  have  sent  it  down  the  Seine  to  Havre,  it  being  neces- 
sary that  it  should  go  by  water.  I  have  not  collected  the  ac- 
counts, but  shall  soon  do  it,  and  forward  them  to  you ;  they 
will  be  less  than  I  had  expected.  I  shall  pray  you  to  account 
for  their  amount  to  the  Governor  and  Council,  as  I  have  with 
them  an  account  into  which  it  will  be  easier  for  me  to  transfer 
the  article.  I  enclose  directions  for  opening  the  boxes  in  which 
the  model  is,  and  I  shall  put  two  copies  of  those  directions  under 
other  covers  to  you  in  hopes  some  one  of  them  may  reach  you 


CORRESPONDENCE.  579 

with  or  before  the  model.     I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  much 
esteem,  Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant. 


TO    LA    FAYETTE. 

PAEIS,  June  15,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — Monsieur  Farrin  called  on  me  on  the  subject  of 
making  Honfleur  a  free  port,  and  wished  me  to  solicit  it.  I  told 
him  it  was  ^or  our  interest,  as  for  that  also  of  all  the  world,  that 
every  port  of  France,  and  of  every  other  country,  should  be  free  : 
that  therefore  we  would  wish  Honfleur  to  be  made  so  :  that  if 
the  matter  was  in  agitation,  the  Count  de  Vergennes  would 
probably  speak  of  it  to  me,  in  which  case  I  should  tell  him  with 
candor  what  I  thought  of  it,  but  that  I  could  not  solicit  it,  as  I 
had  no  instructions  to  do  so.  So  far  I  said  to  him.  I  did  not 
add,  what  I  may  safely  do  to  you,  that  the  measures  proposed 
being  more  for  the  interest  of  France  than  of  the  United  States, 
there  is  no  reason  for  our  desiring  its  adoption  to  be  placed  on 
the  ground  of  favor  to  us  ;  and  again,  that  those  who  have  had 
and  who  may  yet  have  occasion  to  ask  great  favors,  should 
never  ask  small  ones.  I  have,  therefore,  thought  it  better  that  the 
United  States  should  not  be  engaged  in  this  negotiation.  If  the 
government,  for  its  own  interest,  will  make  the  port  free,  I  shall 
be  glad  of  it ;  but  do  not  wish  it  enough  to  ask  it.  If  you  should 
be  of  a  different  opinion,  I  should  be  glad  to  converse  with  you 
on  the  subject.  I  write  without  reserve,  knowing  that  you  will 
be  pleased  with  it ;  and  that  your  zeal  for  our  interest  will  in- 
duce you  to  do  what  is  for  the  best.  I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  yours 
affectionately. 


TO    MR.    CARMICHAEL. 

PARIS,  June  20,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — My  last  to  you  was  of  the  5th  of  May,  by  Baron 
Waltersdorff.     Since  that  I  have  been  honored  with  yours  of 


580  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

April  the  13th,  and  May  the  16th  and  18th.  The  present 
covers  letters  to  Mr.  Lambe  and  Mr.  Randall,  informing  them 
that  the  demands  of  Algiers  for  the  ransom  of  our  prisoners  and 
also  for  peace  are  so  infinitely  beyond  our  instructions,  that  we 
must  refer  the  matter  back  to  Congress,  and  therefore  praying 
them  to  come  on  immediately.  I  will  beg  the  favor  of  you  to 
forward  these  letters.  The  whole  of  this  business,  therefore,  is 
suspended  till  we  receive  further  orders,  except  as  to  Mr.  Bar- 
clay's mission.  Your  bills  have  been  received  and  honored. 
The  first,  naming  expressly  a  letter  of  advice,  and  none  coming, 
it  was  refused  till  the  receipt  of  your  letter  to  me,  in  which  you 
mentioned  that  you  had  drawn  two  bills.  I  immediately  in- 
formed Mr.  Grand,  who  thereupon  honored  the  bill. 

I  have  received  no  public  letters  of  late  date.  Through  other 
channels,  I  have  collected  some  articles  of  information,  which 

may  be  acceptable  to  you. 

********** 

In  a  letter  of  March  the  20th,  from  Dr.  Franklin  to  me,  is  this 
passage :  "  As  to  public  affairs,  the  Congress  has  not  been  able 
to  assemble  more  than  seven  or  eight  States  during  the  whole 
winter,  so  the  treaty  with  Prussia  remains  still  unratified,  though 
there  is  no  doubt  of  its  being  done  soon,  as  a  full  Congress  is 
expected  next  month.  The  disposition  to  furnish  Congress  with 
ample  powers  augments  daily,  as  people  become  more  enlight- 
ened. And  I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  seen,  during  my 
long  life,  more  signs  of  public  felicity  than  appear  at  present 
throughout  these  States  ;  the  cultivators  of  the  earth,  who  make 
the  bulk  of  our  nation,  have  made  good  crops,  which  are  paid 
for  at  high  prices,  with  ready  money  ;  the  artisans  too,  receive 
high  wages;  and  the  value  of  all  real  estates  is  augmented 
greatly.  Merchants  and  shopkeepers,  indeed,  complain  that 
there  is  not  business  enough.  But  this  is  evidently  not  owing 
to  the  fewness  of  buyers,  but  to  the  too  great  number  of  sellers ; 
for  the  consumption  of  goods  was  never  greater,  as  appears  by 
the  dress,  furniture,  and  manner  of  living,  of  all  ranks  of  the 
people  "  His  health  is  good,  except  as  to  the  stone,  which  doe? 


CORRESPONDENCE.  581 

not  grow  worse.  I  thank  you  for  your  attention  to  my  request 
about  the  books,  which  Mr.  Barclay  writes  me  he  has  forwarded 
from  Cadiz.  I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  great  respect,  dear 
Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    MB.    LAMBE. 

PARIS,  June  20,  1786. 

Sm, — Having  communicated  to  Mr.  Adams  the  information 
received  at  different  times,  from  yourself,  from  Mr.  Randall 
and  Mr.  Carmichael,  we  find  that  the  sum  likely  to  be  demanded 
by  Algiers  for  the  ransom  of  our  prisoners,  as  well  as  for  peace, 
is  so  infinitely  beyond  our  powers,  and  the  expectations  of  Con- 
gress, that  it  has  become  our  duty  to  refer  the  whole  matter  back 
to  them.  Whether  they  will  choose  to  buy  a  peace,  to  force  one, 
or  to  do  nothing,  will  rest  in  their  pleasure.  But  that  they  may 
have  all  the  information  possible  to  guide  them  in  their  delib- 
erations, we  think  it  important  that  you  should  return  to  them. 
No  time  will  be  lost  by  this,  and  perhaps  time  may  be  gained. 
It  is,  therefore,  our  joint  desire,  that  you  repair  immediately  to 
New  York,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  to  Congress  all  the  infor- 
mation on  this  subject  which  your  journey  has  enabled  you  to 
acquire.  You  will  consider  this  request  as  coming  from  Mr. 
Adams  as  well  as  myself,  as  it  is  by  express  authority  from  him 
that  I  join  him  in  it.  I  am  of  opinion  it  will  be  better  for  you 
to  come  to  Marseilles  and  by  Paris ;  because  there  is  a  possibility 
that  fresh  orders  to  us,  from  Congress,  might  render  it  useful 
that  we,  also,  should  have  received  from  you  all  possible  infor- 
mation on  this  subject.  And,  perhaps,  no  time  may  be  lost  by 
this,  as  it  might  be  long  before  you  would  get  a  passage  from 
Alicant  to  America. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


582  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO    MR.    JAY. 

PARIS,  July  8,  1  *786. 

SIR, — My  letters  to  you  by  the  last  French  packet  were  dated 
May  12,  22,  23,  27,  27,  and  I  sent,  by  the  way  of  London,  one 
dated  May  21.  Since  this,  I  have  been  honored  with  yours  of 
May  the  5th.  The  letter  therein  enclosed  for  Mr.  Dumas  has 
been  duly  forwarded ;  and  the  report  on  the  subject  of  the  Con- 
sular convention  I  delivered  to  Count  de  Vergennes  the  first  levee 
day  after  the  return  of  the  King,  who  was  gone  to  Cherbourg  at 
the  time  of  my  receiving  it.  Mr.  Randall,  being  so  far  on  his 
return,  and  meaning  to  go  by  the  way  of  London,  where  his  stay 
will  be  short,  he  will  be  the  bearer  of  this  letter,  with  which  I 
have  an  opportunity  of  enclosing  the  last  letters  I  have  received 
from  Mr.  Barclay  and  Mr.  Lambe.  Mr.  Barclay  left  Cadiz  soon 
after  the  date  of  his  letter.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Lambe  on  the  20th 
of  June,  with  the  concurrence  of  Mr.  Adams,  to  repair  to  Con- 
gress with  all  possible  despatch,  recommending,  but  not  enjoin- 
ing, his  coming  by  the  way  of  Versailles  and  Paris,  supposing  it 
possible  that  the  information  he  might  communicate  might  be 
usefully  applied  by  Mr.  Adams  and  myself  in  the  execution  of 
the  commands  of  Congress.  I  afterwards  wrote  him  another 
letter,  desiring  expressly  that  if  this  route  was  likely  to  retard 
much  his  attendance  on  Congress,  he  would  take  such  other  as 
would  be  shortest.  At  the  desire  of  Monsieur  Houdon,  I  have 
the  honor  to  enclose  to  you  his  propositions  for  making  the  eques- 
trian statue  of  General  Washington.  In  the  autumn  of  the  last 
year,  I  received  letters  from  an  American  master  of  a  ship  of  the 
name  of  Asquith,  informing  me  that  he  had  had  a  most  disastrous 
passage  across  the  Atlantic,  that  they  had  put  into  Brest  then  in 
such  distress  that  they  were  obliged  to  make  the  first  port  possi- 
ble, that  they  had  been  immediately  seized  by  the  officers  of  the 
Farmers  General,  their  vessel  and  her  lading  seized,  and  that 
themselves  were  then  in  jail  suffering  from  every  want.  Letters 
by  every  post  gave  me  to  believe  their  distress  was  very  real.  As 


COEKESPONDENCE.  583 

all  their  cash  was  soon  exhausted,  and  the  winter  setting  in  very 
severely,  I  desired  a  merchant  in  Brest  to  furnish  them  a  livre  a 
day  a  piece.  It  was  sometime  before  I  could  ascertain  the  nature 
of  the  proceedings  against  them.  It  proved  at  length  to  be  a 
prosecution  as  for  endeavoring  to  introduce  tobacco  in  contra- 
band. I  was  induced  to  order  this  allowance  from  evidence  that 
the  men,  six  in  number,  must  inevitably  perish  if  left  to  the  pit- 
tance allowed  by  the  Farmers  General  to  their  prisoners,  and 
from  a  hope  that  the  matter  would  soon  be  decided.  I  was  led 
on  by  this  delusive  hope  from  week  to  week,  and  month  to 
month,  and  it  proved  to  be  ten  months  before  they  were  dis- 
charged. I  applied  early  to  Count  de  Vergennes,  and  was  in- 
formed by  him  that  the  matter  being  in  a  regular  course  of  law, 
there  could  be  no  interference,  and  that  if  the  sentence  should 
be  against  them  I  might  expect  a  remission  of  so  much  of  it  as 
should  depend  on  the  King.  They  were  condemned  to  forfeit 
their  vessel  and  cargo,  to  a  fine,  and  to  the  gallies.  The  fine  and 
condemnation  to  the  gallies  were  remitted  immediately  by  the 
King,  but  'the  forfeiture  of  vessel  and  cargo  being  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Farmers,  he  could  not  remit  that.  They  were  also  to  pay 
the  expenses  of  their  prosecution,  and  to  remain  in  jail  till  they  did 
it.  So  that, upon  the  whole,!  was  obliged  to  advance  for  them 
2620/.  2s.,  being  somewhat  upwards  of  100  guineas;  for  which 
I  informed  Asquith,from  the  beginning, he  must  consider  himself 
as  answerable  to  the  United  States.  I  accordingly  enclose  the 
account  showing  the  purposes  for  which  the  money  was  paid, 
and  his  own  original  acknowledgment  that  it  was  for  his  use.  I 
own  I  am  uncertain  whether  I  have  done  right  in  this ;  but  I  am 
persuaded  some  of  them  would  have  perished  without  this  ad- 
vance ;  I  therefore  thought  it  one  of  those  cases  where  citizens, be- 
ing under  unexpected  calamity,  have  a  right  to  call  for  the  patron- 
age of  the  public  servants.  All  the  disinterested  testimony  I 
have  been  able  to  get  has  been  in  favor  of  the  innocence  of  these 
men.  Count  de  Vergennes,  however,  believed  them  guilty ;  and 
I  was  assured  the  depositions  regularly  taken  were  much  against 
them.  I  enclose  herewith  the  state  of  their  case  as  it  appeared 


584  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

to  me  in  the  beginning,  and  as  I  communicated  it  by  letter  to  the 
minister. 

Having  been  lately  desired  by  the  Swedish  Ambassador  here, 
to  state  to  him  what  I  thought  the  best  measure  for  rendering 
the  island  of  St.  Bartholomew  useful  to  the  commerce  of  Sweden 
and  the  United  States,  I  did  it  in  a  letter  of  which  I  enclose  a 
copy.  My  view  in  doing  it  is,  that  if  any  farther  or  better  meas- 
ure should  occur  to  Congress,  on  its  being  communicated  to  me, 
I  can  still  suggest  it  to  the  Ambassador,  probably  before  any  final 
decision. 

It  being  material  that  the  reduction  of  the  duties  on  whale  oil, 
which  would  expire  with  the  close  of  this  year,  should  be  re- 
vised in  time  for  the  whalemen  to  take  measures  in  consequence, 
we  have  applied  for  a  continuance  of  the  reduction,  and  even  for 
an  abolition  of  all  duties.  The  committee,  of  the  creation  of 
which  I  informed  you  in  my  letter  of  May  27,  and  of  which  the 
M.  de  La  Fayette  is  a  member,  were  in  favor  of  the  abolition. 
But  there  is  little  prospect,  perhaps  none  at  all,  of  obtaining  con- 
firmation of  their  sentence.  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  continuance 
of  the  abatement  of  the  duties  on  the  footing  stated  in  that  letter. 
The  term  of  three  years  will  probably  be  adopted.  The  gazettes 
of  Leyden  and  of  France,  from  the  former  to  the  present  date, 
accompany  this.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the 
most  perfect  esteem  and  respect,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble 
servant. 


TO    MR.    ADAMS. 

PARIS,  July  9,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  you  last  on  the  23d  of  May.  Your  favor 
of  that  date  did  not  come  to  hand  till  the  19th  of  June.  In 
consequence  of  it  I  wrote  the  next  day  letters  to  Mr.  Lambe  and 
Mr.  Randall,  copies  of  which  I  have  now  the  honor  to  enclose 
you.  In  these, you  will  perceive  I  had  desired  Mr.  Randall,  who 
was  supposed  to  be  at  Madrid,  to  return  immediately  to  Paris  and 
London,  and  to  Mr.  Lambe,  supposed  at  Alicant,  I  recommended 


CORRESPONDENCE.  535 

the  route  of  Marseilles  and  Paris,  expecting  that  no  direct  passage 
could  be  had  from  Alicant  to  America,  and  meaning,  on  his  arri- 
val here,  to  advise  him  to  proceed  by  the  way  of  London,  that 
you  also  might  have  an  opportunity  of  deriving  from  him  all  the 
information  he  could  give.  On  the  2d  of  July,  Mr.  Randall  ar- 
rived here,  and  delivered  me  a  letter  from  Mr.  Lambe,  dated 
May  the  20th,  of  which  I  enclose  you  a  copy,  as  well  as  of  an- 
other of  June  the  5th,  which  had  come  to  hand  some  time  be- 
fore. Copies  of  these  I  have  also  sent  to  Mr.  Jay.  Yours  of  the 
29th  of  June,  by  Dr.  Bancroft,  and  enclosing  a  draught  of  a  joint 
letter  to  Mr.  Lambe,  came  to  hand  on  the  5th  instant.  I  imme- 
diately signed  and  forwarded  it,  as  it  left  him  more  at  liberty  as 
to  his  route  than  mine  had  done.  Mr.  Randall  will  deliver  you 
the  present  and  supply  the  informations  heretofore  received.  I 
think  with  you  that  Congress  must  begin  by  getting  money. 
When  they  have  this,  it  is  a  matter  of  calculation  whether  they 
will  buy  a  peace,  or  force  one,  or  do  nothing.  I  am  also  to  ac- 
knowledge the  receipt  of  your  favors  of  June  6,  25  and  26.  The 
case  of  Grosse  shall  be  attended  to.  I  am  not  certain,  however, 
whether  my  appearing  in  it  may  not  do  him  harm  by  giving  the 
captors  a  hope  that  our  government  will  redeem  their  citizens.  I 
have,  therefore,  taken  measures  to  find  them  out  and  sound  them. 
If  nothing  can  be  done  privately,  I  will  endeavor  to  interest  this 
government. 

Have  you  no  news  yet  of  the  treaty  with  Portugal  ?  does  it 
hang  with  that  court  ?  My  letters  from  New  York  of  the  1 1th 
of  May  inform  me  that  there  were  then  eleven  States  present, 
and  that  they  should  ratify  the  Prussian  treaty  immediately.  As 
the  time  for  the  exchange  of  ratifications  is  drawing  to  a  close, 
tell  me  what  is  to  be  done,  and  how  this  exchange  is  to  be  made. 
We  may  as  well  have  this  settled  between  us  before  the  arrival 
of  the  ratification,  that  no  time  may  be  lost  after  that.  I  learn 
through  the-  Marechal  de  Castries  that  he  has  information  of  New 
York's  having  ceded  the  impost  in  the  form  desired  by  Congress, 
so  as  to  close  this  business.  Corrections  in  the  acts  of  Maryland, 
Pensylvania,  &c.,  will  come  of  course.  We  have  taken  up  again 


588  JEFFERSON'S    WOKKS. 

the  subject  of  whale  oil,  that  they  may  know  in  time  in  America 
what  is  to  be  done  in  it.  I  fear  we  shall  not  obtain  any  farther 
abatement  of  duties ;  but  the  last  abatement  will  be  continued 
for  three  years.  The  whole  duties  payable  here  are  nearly  one 
hundred  and  two  livres  on  the  English  ton,  which  is  an  atom 
more  than  four  guineas,  according  to  the  present  exchange.  The 
monopoly  of  the  purchase  of  tobacco  for  this  country,  which  had 
been  obtained  by  Robert  Morris,  had  thrown  the  commerce  of 
that  article  in  agonies.  He  had  been  able  to  reduce  the  price  in 
America  from  40  to  22/.  lawful  the  hundred  weight,  and  all 
other  merchants  being  deprived  of  that  medium  of  remittance, 
the  commerce  between  American  and  that  country,  so  far  as  it 
depended  on  that  article,  which  was  very  capitally  too,  was  ab- 
solutely ceasing.  An  order  has  been  obtained,  obliging  the  Far- 
mers General  to  purchase  from  such  other  merchants  as  shall  of- 
fer fifteen  thousand  hogsheads  of  tobacco  at  thirty-four,  thirty-six 
and  thirty-eight  livres  the  hundred,  according  to  the  quality,  and 
to  grant  to  the  sellers  in  other  respects  the  same  terms  as  they 
had  granted  to  Robert  Morris.  As  this  agreement  with  Morris  is 
the  basis  of  this  order,  I  send  you  some  copies  of  it,  which  I  will 
thank  you  to  give  to  any  American  (not  British)  merchants  in 
London  who  may  be  in  that  line.  Seeing  the  year  this  contract 
has  subsided,  Virginia  and  Maryland  have  lost  £400,000  by  the 
reduction  of  the  price  of  their  tobacco. 

I  am  meditating  what  step  to  take  to  provoke  a  letter  from 
Mrs.  Adams,  from  whom  my  files  inform  me  I  have  not  received 
one  these  hundred  years.  In  the  meantime,  present  my  affec- 
tionate respects  to  her,  and  be  assured  of  the  friendship  and  es- 
teem with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  most  obe- 
dient, and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    COLONEL    MONROE. 

PAUIS,  July  9,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  you  last  on  the    10th  of  May  ;   since 
which  your  favor  of  May  the  llth  has  come  to  hand.     The 


CORRESPONDENCE.  537 

political  world  enjoys  great  quiet  here.  The  King  of  Prussia  is 
still  living,  but  like  the  snuff  of  a  candle,  which  sometimes 
seems  out,  and  then  blazes  up  again.  Some  think  that  his  death 
will  not  produce  any  immediate  effect  in  Europe.  His  kingdom, 
like  a  machine,  will  go  on  for  some  time  with  the  winding  up 
he  has  given  it.  The  King's  visit  to  Cherbourg  has  made  a 
great  sensation  in  England  and  here.  It  proves  to  the  world, 
that  it  is  a  serious  object  to  this  country,  and  that  the  King  com- 
mits himself  for  the  accomplishment  of  it.  Indeed,  so  many 
cones  have  been  sunk,  that  no  doubt  remains  of  the  practicabil- 
ity of  it.  It  will  contain,  as  is  said,  eighty  ships  of  the  line,  be 
one  of  the  best  harbors  in  the  world,  and  by  means  of  two  en- 
trances, on  different  sides,  will  admit  vessels  to  come  in  and  go 
out  with  every  wind.  The  effect  of  this,  in  another  war  with 
England,  defies  calculation.  Having  no  news  to  communicate, 
I  will  recur  to  the  subjects  of  your  letter  of  May  the  llth. 

With  respect  to  the  new  States,  were  the  question  to  stand 
simply  in  this  form,  How  may  the  ultramontane  territory  be  dis- 
posed of,  so  as  to  produce  the  greatest  and  most  immediate  bene- 
fit to  the  inhabitants  of  the  maritime  States  of  the  Union  ?  the 
plan  would  be  more  plausible,  of  laying  it  off  into  two  or  three 
States  only.  Even  on  this  view,  however,  there  would  still  be 
something  to  be  said  against  it,  which  might  render  it  at  least 
doubtful.  But  that  is  a  question  which  good  faith  forbids  us  to 
receive  into  discussion.  This  requires  us  to  state  the  question 
in  its  just  form,  How  may  the  territories  of  the  Union  be  dis- 
posed of,  so  as  to  produce  the  greatest  degree  of  happiness  to 
their  inhabitants  ?  With  respect  to  the  maritime  States,  little  or 
nothing  remains  to  be  done.  With  respect,  then,  to  the  ultra- 
montane States,  will  their  inhabitants  be  happiest,  divided  into 
States  of  thirty-thousand  square  miles,  not  quite  as  large  as  Penn- 
sylvania, or  into  "States  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
square  miles,  each,  that  is  to  say,  three  times  as  large  as  Virginia 
within  the  Alleghany  ?  They  will  not  only  be  happier  in  States 
of  moderate  size,  but  it  is  the  only  way  in  which  they  can  ex- 
ist as  a  regular  society.  Considering  the  American  character  in 


588  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

general,  that  of  those  people  particularly,  and  the  energetic  na- 
ture of  our  governments,  a  State  of  such  extent  as  one  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand  square  miles,  would  soon  crumble  into  little 
ones.  These  are  the  circumstances  which  reduce  the  Indians  to 
such  small  societies.  They  would  produce  an  effect  on  our  peo- 
ple, similar  to  this.  They  would  not  be  broken  into  such  small 
pieces,  because  they  are  more  habituated  to  subordination,  and 
value  more  a  government  of  regular  law.  But  you  would  surely 
reverse  the  nature  of  things,  in  making  small  States  on  the  ocean, 
and  large  ones  beyond  the  mountains.  If  we  could,  in  our  con- 
sciences, say,  that  great  States  beyond  the  mountains  will  make 
the  people  happiest,  we  must  still  ask,  whether  they  will  be  con- 
tented to  be  laid  off  into  large  States  ?  They  certainly  \vill 
not ;  and,  if  they  decide  to  divide  themselves,  we  are  not  able  to 
restrain  them.  They  will  end  by  separating  from  our  confeder- 
acy, and  becoming  its  enemies.  We  had  better,  then,  look  for- 
ward, and  see  what  will  be  the  probable  course  of  things.  This 
will  surely  be  a  division  of  that  country  into  States  of  a  small, 
or,  at  most,  of  a  moderate  size.  If  we  lay  them  ofF  into  such, 
they  will  acquiesce  ;  and  we  shall  have  the  advantage  of  arrange- 
ing  them,  so  as  to  produce  the  best  combinations  of  interest. 
What  Congress  have  already  done  in  this  matter  is  an  argument 
the  more  in  favor  of  the  revolt  of  those  States  against  a  differ- 
ent arrangement,  and  of  their  acquiescence  under  a  continuance 
of  that.  Upon  this  plan,  we  treat  them  as  fellow  citizens  ;  they 
will  have  a  just  share  in  their  own  government ;  they  will  love 
us,  and  pride  themselves  in  an  union  with  us.  Upon  the  other, 
we  treat  them  as  subjects  ;  we  govern  them,  and  not  they  them- 
selves ;  they  will  abhor  us  as  masters,  and  break  off  from  us  in 
defiance.  I  confess  to  you,  that  I  can  see  no  other  turn  that 
these  two  plans  would  take.  But  I  respect  your  opinion,  and 
your  knowledge  of  the  country  too  much,  to  be  ever  confident 
in  my  own. 

I  thank  you  sincerely  for  your  communication,  that  my  not 
having  sooner  given  notice  of  the  Arrets  relative  to  fish  gave  dis- 
content to  some  persons.  These  are  the  most  friendly  offices 


CORRESPONDENCE.  589 

you  can  do  me,  because  they  enable  me  to  justify  myself,  if  1 
am  right,  or  correct  myself,  if  wrong.  If  those,  who  thought  I 
might  have  been  remiss,  would  have  written  to  me  on  the  sub- 
ject, I  should  have  admired  them  for  their  candor,  and  thanked 
them  for  it :  for  I  have  no  jealousies  nor  resentments  at  things 
of  this  kind,  where  I  have  no  reason  to  believe  they  have  been 
excited  by  a  hostile  spirit ;  and  I  suspect  no  such  spirit  in  a  single 
member  of  Congress.  You  know  there  were  two  Arrets  ;  the 
first  of  August  the  30th,  1784,  the  second  of  the  18th  and  25th 
of  September,  1785.  As  to  the  first,  it  would  be  a  sufficient  jus- 
tification of  myself  to  say,  that  it  was  in  the  time  of  my  prede- 
cessor, nine  months  before  I  came  into  office,  and  that  there  was 
no  more  reason  for  my  giving  information  of  it,  when  I  did  come 
into  office,  than  of  all  the  other  transactions  which  preceded  that 
period.  But  this  would  seem  to  lay  a  blame  on  Dr.  Franklin, 
for  not  communicating  it,  which  I  am  confident  he  did  not  de- 
serve. This  government  affects  a  secrecy  in  all  its  transactions 
whatsoever,  though  they  be  of  a  nature  not  to  admit  a  perfect 
secrecy.  Their  .4rrefe,respecting  the  islands,  go  to  those  islands, 
and  are  unpublished  and  unknown  in  France,  except  in  the  bu- 
reau where  they  are  formed.  That  of  August,  1784,  would 
probably  be  communicated  to  the  merchants  of  the  seaport  towns 
also.  But  Paris  having  no  commercial  connections  with  them, 
if  anything  makes  its  way  from  a  seaport  town  to  Paris,  it  must 
be  by  accident.  We  have,  indeed,  agents  in  these  seaports ;  but 
they  value  their  offices  so  little,  that  they  do  not  trouble  them- 
selves to  inform  us  of  what  is  passing  there.  As  a  proof  that 
these  things  do  not  transpire  here,  nor  are  easily  got  at,  recollect 
that  Mr.  Adams,  Dr.  Franklin,  and  myself  were  all  here,  on  the 
spot  together,  from  August,  1784,  to  June,  1785,  that  is  to  say, 
ten  months,  and  yet  not  one  of  us  knew  of  the  Arret  of  August, 
1784.  September  the  18th  and  25th,  1785,  the  second  was 
passed.  And  here  alone  I  became  responsible.  I  think  it  was 
about  six  weeks  before  I  got  notice  of  it,  that  is,  in  November. 
On  the  20th  of  that  month,  writing  to  Count  de  Vergennes  on 
another  subject,  I  took  occasion  to  remonstrate  to  him  on  that 


590  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

But  from  early  in  November,  when  the  Fitzhughs  went  to  Amer- 
ica, I  had  never  a  confidential  opportunity  of  writing  to  Mr.  Jay 
from  hence,  directly,  for  several  months.  In  a  letter  of  Decem- 
ber the  14th  to  Mr.  Jay,  I  mentioned  to  him  the  want  of  an  op- 
portunity to  write  to  him  confidentially,  which  obliged  me,  at 
that  moment,  to  write  by  post,  via  London,  and  on  such  things 
only  as  both  post  offices  were  welcome  to  see.  On  the  2d  of 
January,  Mr.  Bingham  setting  out  for  London,  I  wrote  to  Mr. 
Jay,  sending  him  a  copy  of  my  letter  to  Count  de  Vergennes,  and 
stating  something  which  had  passed  in  conversation  on  the  same 
subject.  I  prayed  Mr.  Bingham  to  take  charge  of  the  letter, 
and  either  to  send  it  by  a  safe  hand,  or  carry  it  himself,  as 
circumstances  should  render  most  advisable.  I  believe  he  kept 
it,  to  carry  himself.  He  did  not  sail  from  London  till  about  the 
12th  of  March,  nor  arrived  in  America  till  about  the  middle  of 
May.  Thus  you  see,  that  causes  had  prevented  a  letter  which  I 
had  written  on  the  20th  of  November  from  getting  to  America 
till  the  month  of  May.  No  wonder,  then,  if  notice  of  this  Arret 
came  first  to  you  by  way  of  the  West  Indies ;  and,  in  general,  I 
am  confident  that  you  will  receive  notice  of  the  regulations  of 
this  country,  respecting  their  islands,  by  the  way  of  those  islands 
before  you  will  from  hence.  Nor  can  this  be  remedied,  but  by 
a  system  of  bribery  which  would  end  in  the  corruption  of  your 
own  ministers,  and  produce  no  good  adequate  to  the  expense. 
Be  so  good  as  to  communicate  these  circumstances  to  the  per- 
sons who  you  think  may  have  supposed  me  guilty  of  remissness 
on  this  occasion. 

I  will  turn  to  a  subject  more  pleasing  to  both,  and  give  you 
my  sincere  congratulations  on  your  marriage.  Your  own  dispo- 
sitions and  the  inherent  comforts  of  that  state,  will  insure  you  a 
great  addition  of  happiness.  Long  may  you  live  to  enjoy  it,  and 
enjoy  it  in  full  measure.  The  interest  I  feel  in  every  one  con- 
nected with  you,  will  justify  my  presenting  my  earliest  respects 
to  the  lady,  and  of  tendering  her  the  homage  of  my  friendship. 
I  shall  be  happy,  at  all  times,  to  be  useful  to  either  of  you,  and 
to  receive  your  commands.  I  enclose  you  the  bill  of  lading  of 


CORRESPONDENCE.  591 

your  Encyclopedic.  With  respect  to  the '  remittance  of  it,  of 
which  you  make  mention,  I  beg  you  not  tothink  of  it.  I  know, 
by  experience,  that  on  proceeding  to  make  a  settlement  in  life,  a 
man  has  need  of  all  his  resources ;  and  I  should  be  unhappy 
were  you  to  lessen  them,  by  an  attention  to  this  trifle.  Let  it  be 
till  you  have  nothing  else  to  do  with  your  money.  Adieu,  my 
dear  Sir,  and  be  assured  of  the  esteem  with  with  which  I  am, 
your  friend  and  servant. 


TO    JOHN   ADAMS. 

PARIS,  July  11,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — Our  instructions  relative  to  the  Barbary  States 
having  required  us  to  proceed  by  way  of  negotiation  to  obtain 
their  peace,  it  became  our  duty 'to  do  this  to  the  best  of  our 
power.  Whatever  might  be  our  private  opinions,  they  were  to 
be  suppressed,  and  the  line,marked  out  to  us,  was  to  be  followed. 
It  has  been  so,  honestly  and  zealously.  It  was,  therefore,  never 
material  for  us  to  consult  together,  on  the  best  plan  of  conduct 
towards  these  States.  I  acknowledge,  I  very  early  thought  it 
would  be  best  to  effect  a  peace  through  the  medium  of  war. 
Though  it  is  a  question  with  which  we  have  nothing  to  do,  yet 
as  you  propose  some  discussion  of  it,  I  shall  trouble  you  with  my 
reasons.  Of  the  four  positions  laid  down  in  your  letter  of  the 
3d  instant,  I  agree  to  the  three  first,  which  are,  in  substance,  that 
the  good  offices  of  our  friends  cannot  procure  us  a  peace,  with- 
out paying  its  price  ;  that  they  cannot  materially  lessen  that 
price  ;  and  that  paying  it,  we  can  have  the  peace  in  spite  of  the 
intrigues  of  our  enemies.  As  to  the  fourth,  that  the  longer  the 
negotiation  is  delayed,  the  larger  will  be  the  demand  ;  this  will 
depend  on  the  intermediate  captures :  if  they  are  many  and  rich, 
the  price  may  be  raised  ;  if  few  and  poor,  it  will  be  lessened. 
However,  if  it  is  decided  that  we  shall  buy  a  peace,  I  know 
no  reason  for  delaying  the  operation,  but  should  rather  think  it 
ought  to  be  hastened  ;  but  I  should  prefer  the  obtaining  it  by  war. 

1.  Justice  is  in  favor  of  this  opinion.     2.  Honor  favors  it.     3. 


592  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

It  will  procure  us  respect  in  Europe ;  and  respect  is  a  safeguard 
to  interest.  4.  It  will  arm  the  federal  head  with  the  safest  of  all 
the  instruments  of  coercion  over  its  delinquent  members,  and 
prevent  it  from  using  what  would  be  less  safe.  I  think  that  so 
far,  you  go  with  me.  But  in  the  next  steps,  we  shall  differ.  5. 
I  think  it  least  expensive.  G.  Equally  effectual.  I  ask  a  fleet  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  guns,  the  one-half  of  which  shall  be  in  constant 
cruise.  This  fleet,  built,  manned  and  victualled  for  six  months  will 
cost  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  sterling.  Its  annual 
expense  will  be  three  hundred  pounds  sterling  a  gun,  including 
everything ;  this  will  be  forty-five  thousand  pounds  sterling  a  year. 
I  take  British  experience  for  the  basis  of  my  calculation  :  though 
we  know,  from  our  own  experience,  that  we  can  do  in  this  way, 
for  pounds  lawful,  what  costs  them  pounds  sterling.  Were  we  to 
charge  all  this  to  the  Algerine  war,  it  would  amount  to  little  more 
than  we  must  pay,  if  we  buy  peace.  But  as  is  it  proper  and  neces- 
sary that  we  should  establish  a  small  marine  force,  (even  were 
we  to  buy  a  peace  from  the  Algerines,)  and  as  that  force,  laid  up 
in  our  dock-yards,  would  cost  us  half  as  much  annually,  as  if  kept 
in  order  for  service,  we  have  a  right  to  say  that  only  twenty-two 
thousand  and  five  hundred  pounds  sterling,  per  annum,  should  be 
charged  to  the  Algerine  war.  6.  It  will  be  as  effectual.  To  all  the 
mismanagements  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  urged  to  show  that  war 
against  those  people  is  ineffectual,  I  urge  a  single  fact  to  prove  the 
contrary,  where  there  is  any  management.  About  forty  years  ago, 
the  Algerines  having  broke  their  treaty  with  Prance,  this  court 
sent  Monsieur  de  Massiac,  with  one  large,  and  two  small  frigates  ; 
he  blockaded  the  harbor  of  Algiers  three  months,  and  they  sub- 
scribed to  the  terms  he  proposed.  If  it  be  admitted,  however, 
that  war,  on  the  fairest  prospects,  is  still  exposed  to  uncertainties, 
I  weigh  against  this,  the  greater  uncertainty  of  the  duration  of  a 
peace  bought  with  money,  from  such  a  people,  from  a  Dey 
eighty  years  old,  and  by  a  nation  who,  on  the  hypothesis  of  buy- 
ing peace,  is  to  have  no  power  on  the  sea,  to  enforce  an  observ- 
ance of  it. 

So  far,  I  have  gone  on  the  supposition  that  the  whole  weight 


CORRESPONDENCE.  593 

of  this  war  would  rest  on  us.  But,  1.  Naples  will  join  us.  The 
character  of  their  naval  minister  (Acton),  his  known  sentiments 
with  respect  to  the  peace  Spain  is  officiously  trying  to  make  for 
them,  and  his  dispositions  against  the  Algerines,  give  the  best 
grounds  to  believe  it.  2.  Every  principle  of  reason  assures  us 
that  Portugal  will  join  us.  I  state  this  as  taking  for  granted,  what 
all  seem  to  believe,  that  they  will  not  be  at  peace  with  Algiers. 
I  suppose,  then,  that  a  convention  might  be  formed  between  Por 
tugal,  Naples  and  the  United  States,  by  which  the  burthen  of  the 
war  might  be  quotaed  on  them,  according  to  their  respective 
wealth ;  and  the  term  of  it  should  be,  when  Algiers  should  sub- 
scribe to  a  peace  with  all  three,  on  equal  terms.  This  might  be 
left  open  for  other  nations  to  accede  to,  and  many,  if  not  most  of 
the  powers  of  Europe,  (except  France,  England,  Holland,  and 
Spain,  if  her  peace  be  made)  would  sooner  or  later  enter  into  the 
confederacy,  for  the  sake  of  having  their  peace  with  the  piratical 
States  guaranteed  by  the  whole.  I  suppose,  that,  in  this  case, 
our  proportion  of  force  would  not  be  the  half  of  what  I  first  cal- 
culated on. 

These  are  the  reasons  which  have  influenced  my  judgment  on 
this  question.  I  give  them  to  you,  to  show  you  that  I  am  imposed 
on  by  a  semblance  of  reason,  at  least ;  and  not  with  an  expectation 
of  their  changing  your  opinion.  You  have  viewed  the  subject,  I 
am  sure,  in  all  its  bearings.  You  have  weighed  both  questions, 
with  all  their  circumstances.  You  make  the  result  different  from 
what  I  do.  The  same  facts  impress  us  differently.  This  is 
enough  to  make  me  suspect  an  error  in  my  process  of  reasoning, 
though  I  am  not  able  to  detect  it.  It  is  of  no  consequence ;  as  I 
have  nothing  to  say  in  the  decision,  and  am  ready  to  proceed 
heartily  on  any  other  plan  which  may  be  adopted,  if  my  agency 
should  be  thought  useful.  With  respect  to  the  dispositions  of 
the  State,  I  am  utterly  uninformed.  I  cannot  help  thinking, 
however,  that  on  a  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  they  might  be 
united  in  either  of  the  plans. 

Having  written  this  on  the  receipt  of  your  letter,  without  know- 
ing of  any  opportunity  of  sending  it,  I  know  not  when  it  will 

VOL.  i.  38 


594  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

go ;  I  add  nothing,  therefore,  on  any  other  subject,  but  assurances 
of  the  sincere  esteem  and  respect  with  which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your 
friend  and  servant. 


TO    COMMODORE    JONES. 

PARIS,  July  11,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  am  perfectly  ready  to  transmit  to  America  any 
accounts  or  proofs  you  may  think  proper.  Nobody  can  wish 
more  that  justice  be  done  you,  nor  is  more  ready  to  be  instru- 
mental in  doing  whatever  may  insure  it.  It  is  only  necessary  for 
me  to  avoid  the  presumption  of  appearing  to  decide  where  I  have 
no  authority  to  do  it.  I  will  this  evening  lodge  in  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Grand  the  original  order  of  the  board  of  treasury,  with  in- 
structions to  receive  from  you  the  balance  you  propose  to  pay,  for 
which  he  will  give  you  a  receipt  on  the  back  of  the  order.  I 
will  confer  with  you  when  you  please  on  the  affair  of  Denmark, 
and  am,  with  very  great  esteem,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient, 
and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    M.    DE    CREVECOEUR. 

PARIS,  July  11,  1786. 

SIR, — I  have  been  honored  with  a  letter  from  M.  Delisle,  Lieu- 
tenant General  au  bailleage  de  lain,  to  which  is  annexed  a  post- 
script from  yourself.  Being  unable  to  write  in  French  so  as  to 
be  sure  of  conveying  my  true  meaning,  or  perhaps  any  meaning 
at  all,  I  will  beg  of  you  to  interpret  what  I  have  now  the  honor 
to  write. 

It  is  time  that  the  United  States,  generally,  and  most  of  the 
separate  States  in  particular,  are  endeavoring  to  establish  means 
to  pay  the  interest  of  their  public  debt  regularly,  and  to  sink  its 
principal  by  degrees.  But  as  yet,  their  efforts  have  been  con- 
fined to  that  part  of  their  debts  which  is  evidenced  by  certificate. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  595 

I  do  not  think  that  any  State  has  yet  taken  measures  for  paying 
their  paper  money  debt.  The  principle  on  which  it  shall  be  paid 
I  take  to  be  settled,  though  not  directly,  yet  virtually,  by  the  reso- 
lution of  Congress  of  June  3d,  1784 ;  that  is,  that  they  will  pay 
the  holder,  or  his  representative,  what  the  money  was  worth  at 
the  time  he  received  it,  with  an  interest  from  that  time  of  six  per 
cent,  per  annum.  It  is  not  said  in  the  letter  whether  the  money 
received  by  Barboutin  was  Continental  money ;  nor  is  it  said  at 
what  time  it  was  received.  But,that  M.  Delisle  may  be  enabled  to 
judge  what  the  five  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-eight 
dollars  were  worth  in  hard  money  when  Barboutin  received  them, 
I  will  state  to  you  what  was  the  worth  of  one  hard  dollar,  both 
in  Continental  and  Virginia  money,  through  the  whole  of  the 
years  1779  and  1780,  within  some  part  of  which  it  was  probably 
received : 

CONTINENTAL    MONEY.  VIRGINIA    MONEY. 

1779-Jan.  9,  7TV«r  1779— Jan.,  8  1780— Jan.,  42 

«  24,  8T354ff  Feb.,  10  Feb.,  45 

Feb.  11,  9TW  Mar.,  10  Mar.,  50 

Mar.  2,  10  Apr.,  16  Apr.,  60 

Apr.  2,  11T\&  May,  20  May,  60 

May  10,  12TVg.  June,  20  June,  65 

June  21,  14fV  July,  21  July,  65 

Aug.  8,  16T<yV  Aug.,  22  Aug.,  70 

Sept.  28,  20  Sept.,  26  Sept.,  72 

Nov.  22,  25T^  Oct.,  28  Oct.,  73 

1780— Feb.  2,  33T\*ff  Nov.,  36  Nov.,  74 

Mar.  18, 40  Dec.,  40  Dec.,  75 

Thus  you  see  that,  in  January  1779,  seven  dollars  and  seventy- 
two  hundredths  of  a  dollar  of  Continental  money  were  worth 
one  dollar  of  silver,  and  at  the  same  time,  eight  dollars  of  Vir- 
ginia paper  were  worth  one  dollar  of  silver,  &c.  After  March  18th, 
1780,  Continental  paper,  received  in  Virginia,  will  be  estimated  by 
the  table  of  Virginia  paper.  I  advise  all  the  foreign  holders  of 
paper  money  to  lodge  it  in  the  office  of  their  consul  for  the  State 
where  it  was  received,  that  he  may  dispose  of  it  for  their  benefit 


596  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

the  first  moment  that  payment  shall  be  provided  by  the  State  or 
Continent.  I  had  lately  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  Countess 
d'Houditot  well  at  Sanois,  and  have  that  now  of  assuring  you  of 
the  perfect  esteem  and  respect  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to 
be,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 


TO    THE    MARQUIS    DE    LA    FAYETTE. 

PARIS,  July  17,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  now  the  honor  of  enclosing  to  you  an  es- 
timate of  the  exports  and  imports  of  the  United  States.  Calcu- 
lations of  this  kind  cannot  pretend  to  accuracy,  where  inatten- 
tion and  fraud  combine  to  suppress  their  objects.  Approxima- 
tion is  all  they  can  aim  at.  Neither  care  nor  candor  have  been 
wanting  on  my  part  to  bring  them  as  near  the  truth  as  my  skill 
and  materials  would  enable  me  to  do.  I  have  availed  myself  of 
the  best  documents  from  the  custom-houses,  which  have  been 
given  to  the  public,  and  have  been  able  to  rectify  these  in  many 
instances  by  information  collected  by  myself  on  the  spot  in  many 
of  the  States.  Still  remember,  however,  that  I  call  them  but  ap- 
proximations, and  that  they  must  present  some  errors  as  considera- 
.ble  as  they  were  unavoidable. 

Our  commerce  divides  itself  into  European  and  West  Indian. 
I  have  conformed  my  statement  to  this  division. 

On  running  over  the  catalogue  of  American  imports,  France 
will  naturally  mark  out  those  articles  with  which  she  could  sup- 
ply us  to  advantage  ;  and  she  may  safely  calculate,  that,  after  a 
little  time  shall  have  enabled  us  to  get  rid  of  our  present  incum- 
brances,  and  of  some  remains  of  attachment  to  the  particular 
forms  of  manufacture  to  which  we  have  been  habituated,  we  shall 
take  those  articles  which  she  can  furnish, on  as  good  terms  as 
other  nations,  to  whatever  extent  she  will  enable  us  to  pay  for 
them.  It  is  her  interest,  therefore,  as  well  as  ours,  to  multiply 
the  means  of  payment.  These  must  be  found  in  the  catalogue  of 


CORRESPONDENCE.  597 

our  exports,  and  among  these  will  be  seen  neither  gold  nor  silver. 
We  have  no  mines  of  either  of  these  metals.  Produce,  therefore, 
is  all  we  can  offer.  Some  articles  of  our  produce  will  be  found 
very  convenient  to  this  country  for  her  own  consumption.  Oth- 
ers will  be  convenient,  as  being  more  commerciable  in  her  hands 
than  those  she  will  give  in  exchange  for  them.  If  there  be  any 
which  she  can  neither  consume,  nor  dispose  of  by  exchange,  she 
will  not  buy  them  of  us,  and  of  course  we  shall  not  bring  them 
to  her.  If  American  produce  can  be  brought  into  the  ports  of 
France,  the  articles  of  exchange  for  it  will  be  taken  in  those 
ports ;  and  the  only  means  of  drawing  it  hither,  is  to  let  the 
merchant  see  that  he  can  dispose  of  it  on  better  terms  here  than 
anywhere  else.  If  the  market  price  of  this  country  does  not  in 
itself  offer  this  superiority,  it  may  be  worthy  of  consideration, 
whether  it  should  be  obtained  by  such  abatements  of  duties,  and 
even  by  such  other  encouragements  as  the  importance  of  the  arti- 
cle may  justify.  Should  some  loss  attend  this  in  the  beginning, 
it  can  be  discontinued  when  the  trade  shall  be  well  established  in 
this  channel. 

With  respect  to  the  West  India  commerce,  I  must  apprise  you 
that  this  estimate  does  not  present  its  present  face.  No  materials 
have  enabled  us  to  say  how  it  stands  since  the  war.  We  can 
only  show  what  it  was  before  that  period.  This  is  most  sensibly 
felt  in  the  exports  of  fish  and  flour.  The  surplus  of  the  former, 
which  these  regulations  threw  back  on  us,  is  forced  to  Europe, 
where,by  increasing  the  quantity,  it  lessens  the  price ;  the  surplus 
of  the  latter  is  sunk,  and  to  what  other  objects  this  portion  of  in- 
dustry is  turned  or  turning,  I  am  not  able  to  discover.  The  im- 
ports, too,  of  sugar  and  coffee  are  thrown  under  great  difficulties. 
These  increase  the  price  ;  and  being  articles  of  food  for  the  poorer 
class  (as  you  may  be  sensible  in  observing  the  quantities  con- 
sumed), a  small  increase  of  price  places  them  above  the  reach  of 
this  class,  which  being  very  numerous,  must  occasion  a  great 
diminution  of  consumption.  It  remains  to  see  whether  the 
American  will  endeavor  to  baffle  these  new  restrictions  in  order 
to  indulge  his  habits,  or  will  adopt  his  habits  to  other  objects 


598 


JEFFEKSON'S    WORKS. 


which  may  furnish  employment  to  the  surplus  of  industry  for- 
merly occupied  in  raising  that  bread  which  no  longer  finds  a 
vent  in  the  West  Indian  market.  If,  instead  of  either  of  these 
measures,  he  should  resolve  to  come  to  Europe  for  coffee  and 
sugar,  he  must  lessen  equivalently  his  consumption  of  some  other 
European  articles  in  order  to  pay  for  his  coffee  and  sugar,  the 
bread  with  which  he  formerly  paid  for  them  in  the  West  Indies 
not  being  demanded  in  the  European  market.  In  fact,  the  cata- 
logue of  imports  offer  several  articles  more  dispensable  than 
coffee  and  sugar.  Of  all  these  subjects,  the  committee  and  your- 
self are  the  more  competent  judges.  To  you,  therefore,  I  trust 
them,  with  every  wish  for  their  improvement ;  and,  with  senti- 
ments of  that  perfect  esteem  and  respect  with  which  I  have  the 
honor  to  be,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble 
servant. 


ESTIMATE    OF    THE    EXPORTS    OF    THE    UNITED  STATES    OF    AMERICA. 

TO  EUROPE.  TO  WEST  INDIES.  TOTAL. 

Louis.  Louis,  Louis. 

Fish 107,000  50,000  157,000 

Fish  Oil 181,688  9,562  191,250 

Fish  Bones 8,400              8,400 

Salted  Meats 131,500  131,500 

Livestock 99,000  99,000 

Butter,  Cheese 18,000  18,000 

Flour,  Bread,  660,000  barrels 330,000  330,000  660,000 

Wheat,  2,210,000  bushels 331,000              331,000 

Indian  Corn 30,000  61,000  -91,000 

Rice,  130,000  barrels 189,350  70,650  260,000 

Indigo 51,700              51,700 

Tobacco,  87,000  hogsheads 1,306,000              1,305,000 

Potash,  20,000  barrels 49,000              49,000 

Peltry.. 184,900              184,900 

Flax  Seed 79,500              79,500 

Hemp 21,000              21,000 

Iron,  Copper 84,000  6,000  90,000 

Turpentine,  <fcc.,  60,000  barrels 29,410  1,800  31,250 

Timber,  Lumber 82,000  164,000  246,000 

Hops,  300 216,500              216,500 

Miscellanies 22,000             22,000 


3,302,448 


941,552 


4,244,000 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


599 


ESTIMATE    OF    THE    IMPORTS    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA. 

FROM    EUROPE   AND   AFRICA. 

Woollen  cloths  of  every  description, 

Linens  of  every  description, 

Hosiery,  Hats, 

Gloves.  Shoes,  Boots,  Sadlery  and  other  things  of  leather, 

Silks,  Gold  and  Silver  Lace,  Jewellery,  Millinery,  Toys, 

East  India  goods, 

Porcelaine,  Glass,  Earthenware, 

Silver,  Copper,  Brass,  Tin,  Pewter,  Lead,  Steel,  Iron  in  every  form,  }- 3  039*000  6  0 

Upholstery,  Cabinet  Work,  Painters'  Colors, 

Cheese,  Pickles,  Confitures,  Chocolate, 

Wine,  2,000  tons,  at  100  louis,  200,000  louis,  Brandy,  Beer, 

Medicinal  Drugs,  Snuff,  Bees'  Wax, 

Books,  Stationery,  Mill  Stones,  Grind  Stones,  Marble, 

Sail  Cloth,  Cordage,  Ship  Chandlery,  Fishing-tackle,  Ivory,  Ebony, 

Barwood,  Dyewood, 
Slaves,  Salt,  521,225  bushels,  at  24  sous,  26,061  louis  6  livres, 


FROM   THE   WEST   INDIES. 

Louis.        I.     s. 

Salt,  500,484  bushels,  at  24  sous 25,020     416 

Fruits 2,23912 

Cocoa,  576,589  Ibs.,  at  12  sous 25,798  12 

Coffee,  408,494  Ibs-.,  at  16  sous 15,249  14     8 

Sugar,  10,232,432  Ibs 168,007 

Molasses,  3,645,464  gallons,  at  24  sous 186,281  19     4 

Rum,  3,888,370  gallons,  at  2  livres  14  sous 437,441  15 

Ginger,  Pimento 1,395     1     4 

Cotton,  356,591  Ibs.,  at  24  sous 17,82913     4 

Skins 7,870     6 

Indigo,  4,352  Ibs.,  at  5  livres  8  sous 979     416 

Ivory,  Turtle  Shell 247     416 

Lignum  vitse,  Sarsaparilla,  Fustic,  Annotta 5,170 

Logwood 13,624  21 

Mahogany 23,280 


927,438  8  8 


3,966,438  8  8 


TO    THE    GOVERNOR    OF    VIRGINIA. 

PARIS,  July  22,  1786. 

SIR, — An  opportunity  offering,  at  a  moment's  warning  only,  to 
London,  I  have  only  time  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  we 


600  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

have  shipped  from  Bordeaux  fifteen  hundred  stand  of  arms  for 
the  State  of  Virginia,  of  which  I  now  enclose  the  bill  of  lading. 
A  somewhat  larger  numher  of  cartouch-boxes  have  been  prepared 
here,  are  now  packing,  and  will  go  to  Havre  immediately  to  be 
shipped  there.  As  soon  as  these  are  forwarded,  I  will  do  myself 
the  honor  of  sending  you  a  state  of  the  expenditures  for  these 
and  other  objects.  The  residue  of  the  arms  and  accoutrements 
are  in  a  good  course  of  preparation.  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect,  your  Excellency's  most 
obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    M.    CAT  HAL  AN. 

PARIS,  August  8,  1786. 

SIR, — I  have  been  duly  honored  with  your  favor  of  July  28. 
I  have  in  consequence  thereof  reconsidered  the  order  of  Council 
of  Berny,  and  it  appears  to  me  to  extend  as  much  to  the  southern 
ports  of  France  as  to  the  western  ;  and  that  for  tobacco  delivered 
in  any  port  where  there  is  no  manufacture,  only  thirty  sols  per 
quintal  is  to  be  deducted.  The  farmers  may  perhaps  evade  the 
purchase  of  tobacco  in  a  port  convenient  to  them  by  purchasing 
the  whole  quantity  in  other  ports.  I  shall  readily  lend  my  aid 
to  promote  the  mercantile  intercourse  between  your  port  and  the 
United  States  whenever  I  can  aid  it.  For  the  present,  it  is  much 
restrained  by  the  danger  of  capture  by  the  piratical  States. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  much  respect,  Sir,  your  most 
obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 


TO    GOVERNOR    HENRY. 


PARIS,  August  9,  1786. 

SIR, — I  have  duly  received  the  honor  of  your  Excellency's 
letter  of  May  17,  178P>,  on  the  subject  of  Captain  Green,  sup- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  601 

posed  to  be  in  captivity  with  the  Algerines.  I  wish  I  could  have 
communicated  the  agreeable  news  that  this  supposition  was  well 
founded,  and  I  should  not  have  hesitated  to  gratify  as  well  your 
Excellency  as  the  worthy  father  of  Captain  Green,  by  doing 
whatever  would  have  been  necessary  for  his  redemption.  But 
we  have  certainly  no  such  prisoner  at  Algiers.  We  have  there 
twenty-one  prisoners  in  all.  Of  these  only  four  are  Americans 
by  birth.  Three  of  these  are  Captains,  of  the  names  of  O'Brian, 
Stephens,  and  Coffyn.  There  were  only  two  vessels  taken  by 
the  Algerines,  one  commanded  by  O'Brian,  the  other  by  Stephens. 
Coffyn,  I  believe,  was  a  supercargo.  The  Moors  took  one  ves- 
sel from  Philadelphia,  which  they  gave  up  again  with  the  crew. 
No  other  captures  have  been  made  on  us  by  any  of  the  piratical 
States.  I  wish  I  could  say  we  were  likely  to  be  secure  against 
future  captures.  With  Morocco  I  have  hope  we  shall ;  but  the 
States  of  Algiers,  Tunis  and  Tripoli  hold  their  peace  at  a  price 
which  would  be  felt  by  every  man  in  his  settlement  with  the 
tax-gatherer. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect, 
your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 

P.  S.  August  13,  1786.  I  have  this  morning  received  in- 
formation from  Mr.  Barclay  that  our  peace  with  the  Emperor  of 
Morocco  would  be  pretty  certainly  signed  in  a  few  days.  This 
leaves  us  the  Atlantic  free.  Algiers,  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  how- 
ever, remaining  hostile,  will  shut  up  the  Mediterranean  to  us. 
The  two  latter  never  come  into  the  Atlantic;  the  Algerines 
rarely,  and  but  a  little  way  out  of  the  Straits.  In  Mr.  Barclay's 
letter  is  this  paragraph,  "  There  is  a  young  man  now  under 
my  care,  who  has  been  a  slave  sometime  with  the  Arabs  in  the 
desert."  His  name  is  James  Mercier,  born  at  the  town  of  Suffolk, 
Nansemond  County,  Virginia.  The  King  sent  him  after  the  first 
audience,  and  I  shall  take  him  to  Spain.  On  Mr.  Barclay's  re- 
turn to  Spain,  he  shall  find  there  a  letter  from  me  to  forward  this 
young  man  to  his  own  country,  for  the  expenses  of  which  I  will 
make  myself  responsible. 


602  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 


TO    JOHN    JAY. 

PARIS,  August  11,  1786. 

SIR, — Since  the  date  of  my  last,  which  was  of  July  the  8th, 
I  have  been  honored  with  the  receipt  of  yours  of  June  the  16th. 
I  am  to  thank  you  on  the  part  of  the  minister  of  Geneva  for 
the  intelligence  it  contained  on  the  subject  of  Gallatin,  whose 
relations  will  be  relieved  by  the  receipt  of  it. 

The  inclosed  intelligence,  relative  to  the  instructions  of  the 
court  of  London  to  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  came  to  me  through  the 
Count  de  La  Touche,  and  Marquis  de  La  Fayette.  De  La  Touche 
is  a  director  under  the  Marechal  de  Castries,  minister  for  the  ma- 
rine department,  and  possibly  receives  his  intelligence  from  him, 
and  he  from  their  ambassador  at  London.  Possibly,  too,  it  might 
be  fabricated  here.  Yet,  weighing  the  characters  of  the  ministry 
of  St.  James's  and  Versailles,  I  think  the  former  more  capable 
of  giving  such  instructions,  than  the  latter  of  fabricating  them 
for  the  small  purposes  the  fabrication  could  answer. 

The  Gazette  of  France,  of  July  the  28th,  announces  the  ar- 
rival of  Peyrouse  at  Brazil,  that  he  was  to  touch  at  Otaheite,  and 
proceed  to  California,  and  still  further  northwardly.  This  paper, 
as  you  well  know,  gives  out  such  facts  as  the  court  are  willing 
the  world  should  be  possessed  of.  The  presumption  is,  there- 
fore, that  they  will  make  an  establishment  of  some  sort,  on  the 
north-west  coast  of  America. 

I  trouble  you  with  the  copy  of  a  letter  from  Scheveighauser 
and  Dobrec,  on  a  subject  with  which  I  am  quite  unacquainted. 
Their  letter  to  Congress  of  November  the  30th,  1780,  gives  their 
state  of  the  matter.  How  far  it  be  true  and  just  can  probably 
be  ascertained  from  Dr.  Franklin,  Dr.  Lee,  and  other  gentlemen 
now  in  America.  I  shall  be  glad  to  be  honored  with  the  com- 
mands of  Congress  on  this  subject.  I  have  inquired  into  the 
state  of  their  arms,  mentioned  in  their  letter  to  me.  The  prin- 
cipal articles  were  about  thirty  thousand  bayonets,  fifty  thousand 
gunlocks,  thirty  cases  of  arms,  twenty-two  cases  of  sabres,  and 


CORRESPONDENCE.  603 

some  other  things  of  little  consequence.  The  quay  at  Nantes, 
having  been  overflowed  by  the  river  Loire,  the  greatest  part  of 
these  arms  were  under  water,  and  they  are  now,  as  I  am  in- 
formed, a  solid  mass  of  rust,  not  worth  the  expense  of  throwing 
them  out  of  the  warehouse,  much  less  that  of  storage.  Were 
not  their  want  of  value  a  sufficient  reason  against  reclaiming  the 
property  of  these  arms,  it  rests  with  Congress  to  decide,  whether 
other  reasons  are  not  opposed  to  this  reclamation.  They  were 
the  property  of  a  sovereign  body,  they  were  seized  by  an  indi- 
vidual, taken  cognizance  of  by  a  court  of  justice,  and  refused,  or 
at  least  not  restored  by  the  sovereign  within  whose  States  they 
had  been  arrested.  These  are  circumstances  which  have  been 
mentioned  to  me.  Dr.  Franklin,  however,  will  be  able  to  in- 
form Congress,  with  precision,  as  to  what  passed  on  this  subject. 
If  the  information  I  have  received  be  anything  like  the  truth, 
the  discussion  of  this  matter  can  only  be  with  the  court  of  Ver- 
sailles. It  would  be  very  delicate,  and  could  have  but  one  of 
two  objects  ;  either  to  recover  the  arms,  which  are  not  worth  re- 
ceiving, or  to  satisfy  us  on  the  point  of  honor.  Congress  will 
judge  how  far  the  latter  may  be  worth  pursuing  against  a  partic- 
ular ally,  and  under  actual  circumstances.  An  instance,  too,  of 
acquiescence  on  our  part  under  a  wrong,  rather  than  disturb  our 
friendship  by  altercations,  may  have  its  value  in  some  future 
case.  However,  I  shall  be  ready  to  do  in  this  what  Congress 
shall  be  pleased  to  direct. 

I  enclose  the  despatches  relative  to  the  Barbary  negotiation, 
received  since  my  last.  It  is  painful  to  me  to  overwhelm  Con- 
gress and  yourself  continually  with  these  voluminous  papers. 
Bat  I  have  no  right  to  suppress  any  part  of  them,  and  it  is  one 
of  those  cases  where,  from  a  want  of  well-digested  information, 
we  must  be  contented  to  examine  a  great  deal  of  rubbish,  in  or- 
der to  find  a  little  good  matter. 

The  gazettes  of  Leyden  and  France,  to  the  present  date,  ac- 
company this,  which,  for  want  of  direct  and  safe  opportunities,  I 
am  obliged  to  send  by  an  American  gentleman,  by  the  way  of 
London.  The  irregularity  of  the  French  packets  has  diverted 


604  JEFFERSON'S   WORKS. 

elsewhere  the  tide  of  passengers,  who  used  to  furnish  me  occa- 
sions of  writing  to  you,  without  permitting  my  letters  to  go 
through  the  post  office.  So  that  when  the  packets  go  now,  I 
can  seldom  write  by  them. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  esteem 
and  respect,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant. 

[The  annexed  is  a  translation  of  the  paper  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  letter,  on  the  subject  of  the  instructions  given  to  Sir 
Guy  Carleton.] 

An  extract  of  English  political  news,  concerning  North  Amer- 
ica. July  14th,  1786. 

General  Carleton  departs  in  a  few  days  with  M.  de  La  Nau- 
diere,  a  Canadian  gentleman.  He  has  made  me  acquainted  with 
the  Indian,  Colonel  Joseph  Brandt.  It  is  certain  that  he  departs 
with  the  most  positive  instructions  to  distress  the  Americans  as 
much  as  possible,  and  to  create  them  enemies  on  all  sides. 

Colonel  Brandt  goes  loaded  with  presents  for  himself,  and  for 
several  chiefs  of  the  tribes  bordering  on  Canada.  It  would  be 
well  for  the  Americans  to  know  in  time,  that  enemies  are  raised 
against  them,  in  order  to  derange  their  system  of  government, 
and  to  add  to  the  confusion  which  already  exists  in  it.  The 
new  possessions  of  England  will  not  only  gain  what  America 
shall  lose,  but  will  acquire  strength  in  proportion  to  the  weaken- 
ing of  the  United  States. 

Sooner  or  later,  the  new  States  which  are  forming  will  place 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  England,  which  can  always 
communicate  with  them  through  Canada ;  and  which,  in  case 
of  future  necessity,  can  harass  the  United  States  on  one  side  by 
her  shipping,  and  on  the  other  by  her  intrigues.  This  system 
has  not  yet  come  to  maturity,  but  it  is  unfolded,  and  we  may 
rely  upon  the  instructions  given  to  Colonel  Brandt. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  6Q5 


TO    COLONEL    MONKOE. 

PARIS,  August  11,  1786. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  you  last  on  the  9th  of  July  ;  and,  since 
that,  have  received  yours  of  the  16th  of  June,  with  the  interest- 
ing intelligence  it  contained.  I  was  entirely  in  the  dark  as  to 
the  progress  of  that  negotiation,  and  concur  entirely  in  the  views 
you  have  taken  of  it.  The  difficulty  on  which  it  hangs  is  a 
sine  qua  non  with  us.  It  would  be  to  deceive  them  and  our- 
selves, to  suppose  that  an  amity  can  be  preserved,  while  this 
right  is  withheld.  Such  a  supposition  would  argue,  not  only  an 
ignorance  of  the  people  to  whom  this  is  most  interesting,  but  an 
ignorance  of  the  nature  of  man,  or  an  inattention  to  it.  Those 
who  see  but  half  way  into  our  true  interest,  will  think  that  that 
concurs  with  the  views  of  the  other  party.  But  those  who  see 
it  in  all  its  extent,  will  be  sensible  that  our  true  interest  will  be 
best  promoted,  by  making  all  the  just  claims  of  our  fellow  citi- 
zens, wherever  situated,  our  own,  by  urging  and  enforcing  them 
with  the  weight  of  our  whole  influence,  and  by  exercising  in 
this,  as  in  every  other  instance,  a  just  government  in  their  con- 
cerns, and  making  common  cause  even  where  our  separate  inter- 
est would  seem  opposed  to  theirs.  No  other  conduct  can  attach 
us  together  ;  and  on  this  attachment  depends  our  happiness. 

The  King  of  Prussia  still  lives,  and  is  even  said  to  be  better. 
Europe  is  very  quiet  at  present.  The  only  germ  of  dissension, 
which  shows  itself  at  present,  is  in  the  quarter  of  Turkey.  The 
Emperor,  the  Empress,  and  the  Venetians  seem  all  to  be  picking 
at  the  Turks.  It  is  not  probable,  however,  that,  either  of  the 
two  first  will  do  anything  to  bring  on  an  open  rupture,  while  the 
King  of  Prussia  lives. 

You  will  perceive,  by  the  letters  I  enclose  to  Mr.  Jay,  that 
Lambe,  under  the  pretext  of  ill  health,  declines  returning  either 
to  Congress,  Mr.  Adams,  or  myself.  This  circumstance  makes 
me  fear  some  malversation.  The  money  appropriated  to  this  ob- 
ject being  in  Holland,  and,  having  been  always  under  the  care 
of  Mr.  Adams,  it  was  concerted  between  us  that  all  the  drafts 


606  JEFFERSON'S    WORKS. 

should  be  on  him.  I  know  not,  therefore,  what  sums  may  have 
been  advanced  to  Lambe  ;  I  hope,  however,  nothing  great.  I 
am  persuaded  that  an  angel  sent  on  this  business,  and  so  much 
limited  in  his  terms,  could  have  done  nothing.  But  should 
Congress  propose  to  try  the  line  of  negotiation  again,  I  think 
they  will  perceive  that  Lambe  is  not  a  proper  agent.  I  have 
written  to  Mr.  Adams  on  the  subject  of  a  settlement  with  Lambe. 
There  is  little  prospect  of  accommodation  between  the  Algerines, 
and  the  Portuguese  and  Neapolitans.  A  very  valuable  capture, 
too,  lately  made  by  them  on  the  Empress  of  Russia,  bids  fair  to 
draw  her  on  them.  The  probability  is,  therefore,  that  these 
three  nations  will  be  at  war  with  them,  and  the  probability  is, 
that  could  we  furnish  a  couple  of  frigates,  a  convention  might 
be  formed  with  those  powers,  establishing  a  perpetual  cruise  on 
the  coast  of  Algiers,  which  would  bring  them  to  reason.  Such 
a  convention, being  left  open  to  all  powers  willing  to  come  into 
it,  should  have  for  its  object  a  general  peace,  to  be  guaranteed  to 
each,  by  the  whole.  Were  only  two  or  three  to  begin  a  confed- 
eracy of  this  kind,  I  think  every  power  in  Europe  would  soon 
fall  into  it,  except  France,  England,  and  perhaps  Spain  and  Hol- 
land. Of  these,  there  is  only  England,  who  would  give  any 
real  aid  to  the  Algerines.  Morocco,  you  perceive,  will  be  at 
peace  with  us.  Were  the  honor  and  advantage  of  establishing 
such  a  confederacy  out  of  the  question,  yet  the  necessity  that 
the  United  States  should  have  some  marine  force,  and  the  hap- 
piness of  this,  as  the  ostensible  cause  for  beginning  it,  would  de- 
cide on  its  propriety.  It  will  be  said,  there  is  no  money  in  the 
treasury.  There  never  will  be  money  in  the  treasury,  till  the 
confederacy  shows  its  teeth.  The  States  must  see  the  rod  ;  per- 
haps it  must  be  felt  by  some  one  of  them.  I  am  persuaded,  all 
of  them  would  rejoice  to  see  every  one  obliged  to  furnish  its 
contributions.  It  is  not  the  difficulty  of  furnishing  them,  which 
beggars  the  treasury,  but  the  fear  that  others  will  not  furnish  as 
much.  Every  rational  citizen  must  wish  to  see  an  effective  in- 
strument of  coercion,  and  should  fear  to  see  it  on  any  other  ele- 
ment than  the  water.  A  naval  force  can  never  endanger  our 


CORRESPONDENCE.  607 

liberties,  nor  occasion  bloodshed  ;  a  land  force  would  do  both. 
It  is  not  in  the  choice  of  the  States,  whether  they  will  pay  mo- 
ney to  cover  their  trade  against  the  Algerines.  If  they  obtain  a 
peace  by  negotiation,  they  must  pay  a  great  sum  of  money  for 
it ;  if  they  do  nothing,  they  must  pay  a  great  sum  of  money,  in 
the  form  of  insurance  ;  and  in  either  way,  as  great  a  one  as  in 
the  way  of  force,  and  probably  less  effectual.  . 

I  look  forward  with  anxiety  to  the  approaching  moment  of 
your  departure  from  Congress.  Besides  the  interest  of  the  con- 
federacy and  of  the  State,  I  have  a  personal  interest  in  it.  I 
know  not  to  whom  I  may  venture  confidential  communications, 
after  you  are  gone.  I  take  the  liberty  of  placing  here  my  re- 
spects to  Mrs.  Monroe,  and  assurances  of  the  sincere  esteem  with 
which  I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  friend  and  servant. 


INDEX   TO    VOL.   I. 


ADAMS,  JOHN — His  views  on  Articles  of 
Confederation,  33. 

Appointed  Minister  to  England,  63. 

His  presentation  at  the  Court  of  St. 

James,  436. 

ADAMS,  SAMUEL — His  character,  121. 
AGRICULTURE — Its  superiority  to  all  other 
pursuits,  403,  465. 

That  of  England  and  France  com- 
pared, 549. 
ALIENS — Who  are  and  who  are  not  aliens. 

530. 

ALGIERS — (See  Barbary  States), 
w    AMERICA,  U.  STATES  OF — Imperfections  of 
Articles  of  Confederation,  78. 

A  New  Constitution,  for,  necessary, 
78. 

Views  of  U.  States  prevalent  in  Eu- 
rope, 407,  413. 

Views  of  public  affairs  of  U.  States 
in  A.  D  1785,  423. 

English  calumnies  against,  427. 

Hostile  feeling  of  England  against, 
429,  464,  541,  550,  563,  604. 

Low  reputation  of,  in  Europe,  513. 

Extravagance  of  the  people,  550. 

Summary  of  news  from.  349. 
ANTOINETTE   MARIA — Her  character,  88, 

101. 

ARMS — Supply  of,  for  Congress,  603. 
ARMY,  REVOLUTIONARY — Virginia  troops, 
235. 

Continental  troops.  235. 

Disasters  in  South,  241,  249. 

Success  in  Canada,  202. 

Supplies  of  men,  provisions  and  am- 
unition  from  Virginia  for  the 
Southern  Army,  243.  244,  245,  246, 
247,  249,  251,  252.  253,  254,  256, 
260,  262,  263,  273,  274,  285,  288, 
302,  304. 

The  movements  of  the  Southern 
Army,  291,  294,  296,  298  299,  300, 
302,  303,  309. 

Expedition  against  Canada,  206. 

Military  move.i:ent  in  Va.,  207. 

Process  of  the  War,  211. 

False  account  of  our  battles  circula- 
ted in  Europe,  207 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION — (See  Con- 
federation). 

ASQUITH  LIKSTER — Relative  to  his  im- 
prisonment in  France  on  charge  of 
being  engaged  in  contraband  trade, 
583. 

ASTRONOMV — Discoveries  in,  447,  516. 

AUSTRIA — Relations  between  the  Empe- 
ror and  the  Dutch,  346,  353,  355, 
358,  365,  400,  405. 
Relations  between  Austria,  Russia, 

and  Turkey,  400. 

Treaty  of  Commerce  with,  510,  523, 
566,  571. 

BALLOONS — Experiments  with  in  France, 

354,  441. 
BARBARY  STATES — Naval  alliance  against 

proposed,  65,  591,  606. 
It  fails,  67. 
Disposition  of  towards  U.  S.  401, 413, 

428. 
Relations  of  U.  S.  with,  376,   393, 

557,  560,  565,  570,  572,  575,  584, 

591,  601. 

A  mission  to,  advisable,  406. 
Mr.  Barclay  sent  on  the  mission  to 

Morocco,  416,  474. 
Letter  to  Emperor,  418. 
Instructions  to  Mr.  Barclay,  420 
Inquiries  to  be  made  by  him,  421. 
Mr.  Lam  be  sent  on  mission  to  Algiers, 

376,438.457,  474,  581. 
Embarrassments  occasioned  by  his 

delay,  376,  385. 

Remanded  to  America  to  give  infor- 
mation in  respect  to  mission,  581. 
His  equivocal  conduct,  605. 
Passports  for  ministers,  471. 
American  prisoners,  439,  477,  601. 
Negotiations    with    the   Tripolitine 

minister,  551. 

Naval  war  against,  advisable,  591. 
BOSTON  PORT  BILL — Effects  of  its  passage 

on  colonies,  6. 

Proceedings  thereon  in  Va.  Assem- 
bly, 6. 
June  1st,  appointed  day  of  general 

fasting,  humiliation  and  prayer,  7. 
39 


610 


INDEX  TO   VOL.  I. 


BOUNDARY — Between   Pennsylvania   and 

Virginia,  399. 

BUKGESSES,  VIRGINIA  HOUSE  OF — Proceed- 
ings in,  on  Stamp  Act,  4. 

Distinguished  members,  4. 

Tone  and  political  views  of  members, 
5. 

Proceedings  on  Boston  Port  Bill,  6. 

Dissolved  by  Governor,  7. 

Recommended  sending  members  to 
Continental  Congress,  7.  Also  to 
elect  delegates  to  meet  at  Wil- 
liamsburg,  7.  Their  action,  8,  9. 

CAMDEN— Battle  of,  263. 

CAPITOL   OF  VIRGINIA — Model    for   from 

France,  46. 

CARMICHAEL,    MR. — The     estimation     in 
which  held  at  Court  of  Spain,  526. 
CARR,  PETER — Letter  of  advice  to  in  re- 
spect to  education,  &e.,  395. 
CHANCERY  COURTS — Expediency  of  intro- 
ducing trial  by  Jury  in,  37,  49,  50. 
CHERBOURG,    PORT   OF — Its    fortification, 

587, 

CHURCH,  EPISCOPAL — Its   first   establish- 
ment in  Virginia,  38. 
Character  of  its  clergy,  38. 
Dissenters  from  constitute  a  major- 
ity, 38. 
Its  overthrow  as  an  establishment, 

39,  174. 

Its  maintenance  advocated  particu- 
larly by  Pendleton  and  Robert  C. 
Nicholas,  39. 
CINCINNATI,  SOCIETY  OF — History  of  and 

objections  to,  834, 
CITIZENSHIP — Act  defininff  it,  40. 
CLARKE,  COL. — His  success  at  St.  Vin- 

cennes,  221. 
Expedition  against  Indians,  339,  359, 

381,  382,  395. 

COLONIES,  AMERICAN — Resistance  to  moth- 
er country,  5. 

Tone  and  views  of  different  parties,  5, 
Resistance  to  Governor,  5. 
Summary  view  of  relations  between 

and  the  mother  country,  8. 
Summary  view  of  their  rights,  124. 
Their  grievances,  201. 
COMMERCE — Commercial    treaties   under 

Confederation,  60. 
Powers  of  Congress  over,  349. 
Proposition  to  exempt  merchant  ves- 
sels from  seizure  in  time  of  war, 
62. 

Commercial  treaties  with  European 
powers,  62, 37 1, 455,  459, 465, 478, 
487. 


COMMERCE — Benefits  of,  404 

Expediency  of  investing  Congress 
•with  control  of,  425,  475,  487. 
531. 

Commercial  relations  with  France, 
378,  386,  491,  499. 

Commercial  relations  with  Austria, 
511,  512,523. 

The  commerce  of  the  U.  Statos,  597. 

Programme  of  commercial   treaties 
with  European  powers,  350,  360, 
371. 
COMMITTEES   OF    CORRESPONDENCE — Their 

origin,  6,  115,  124. 

CONFEDERATION,  ARTICLES  OF — Report  of       J 
committee   appointed  to  prepare, 
26. 

Debates  thereon  in  Continental  Con- 
gress, 27,  28,  29,  30,  31. 

Adoption  thereof,  36. 

Executive  power  lodged  in  Commit- 
tee, 54. 

The  Committee  splits  into  factions, 
54. 

Character  of  Congress  under,  58. 

Imperfections  of  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, 78. 

New  Constitution  necessary,  78. 

Financial  embarrassments  under  Con- 
federation, 83. 

Powers  of  over  commerce,  349,  425, 

475,  487. 

CONGRESS — Proceedings  of  Continental 
Congress,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14, 
15,  16,  17.  18,  19. 

Address  by  to  people  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, 11. 

Character  of  Congress  under  Con- 
federation at  Annapolis,  58. 

Instructions  of  Va.  to  her  delegates 
to  Continental  Congress,  122,  142. 
CONSTITUTION,    FEDERAL — Mr.   Jefferson's       ^/ 

views  on,  79. 

CONSULS — Consular  Convention  with 
France,  85. 

Consuls  not  recognized  by  Law  of 

Nations,  426. 

CONVENTION —  1  lie  Assembly  of  the  Con- 
vention to  amend  constitution,  79. 
CORNWALLIS,  LORD — His  military  move- 
ments in  South,  291,  294. 
CRIMINAL    CODE — Revision   of    Criminal 
Code  of  Va.,  43. 

Whether  punishment  of  death  should 
be  abolished,  45. 

Bill  proportioning  crimes  and  pun- 
ishments, 146. 
CURRENCY — Notes  on  Money  Unit,  53, 162. 

Coinage  for  U.  States,  475. 


INDEX    TO    VOL.   I. 


611 


DAVIF.S,  COL.  WM. — Recommendation  of 
for   Commissioner  of  War  Office, 
301. 
DEBT,  DOMESTIC — Condition  of,  369,  472, 

578. 

DEBT,  FOREIGN — Condition  of,  82,  369, 
471,  510,  512,  519,  546,  566,  676. 

Interest  on,  357. 

DEBT,  REVOLUTIONARY — Interest  not  paid 
during  war,  546,  561. 

On  what  principle  paper  debt  re- 
deemed. 595. 

DECLARATION  oi<-  INDEPENDENCE — Moved  in 
Continental  Congress  by  Va.  dele- 
gates in  conformity  with  instruc- 
tions, 12. 

Debates  on  that  motion,  12,  13,  14, 
15,  16.  17. 

Action  thereon,  17, 18. 

Committee  appointed  to  prepare,  17, 
18. 

Report  of  Committee,  19. 

Copy  of  rough  draught  of  Declara- 
tion, 19,  20. 

Facsimile  of  rough  draught  of  De- 
claration, 26. 

History  of  circumstances  attending 
the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
118. 

Necessity  of  separation  from  mother 

country,  207. 

DENMARK — Claim  against  for  prize  money, 
461,  489. 

Money  paid,  522. 

Commercial  relations  of  U.  S.  with, 

571. 

DUMAS,  M. — His  personal  standing  in 
France  and  Holland,  527,  568. 

Debt  due  to,  528. 

His  mission  to  the  Hague,  593. 

ECLIPSE — The  eclipse  of  1778,  310. 
EDUCATION — General  system  of,  347. 

Letter  of  advice  from  Mr.  Jefferson 

in  relation  to,  395. 
Relative  advantages  of  foreign  and 

domestic  education,  467. 
ENGLAND — Commercial  treaty  with    im- 
practicable, 64,  541,  543,  550,  552, 
553. 
Hostile  feelings  towards  U.  States, 

429,  464,  541,  550,  563,  604. 
England  and  France  compared,  54fe , 
Relations  of  U.  States  with,  557, 560, 

561,  576. 

Debt  of  U.  S.  to,  563. 
Incites  Indians  against  our  people, 

604. 
ENTAILS— Abolition  of  in  Va.,  37,  138. 


EPISCOPAL   CHURCH — Its    first    establish- 
ment in  Virginia,  38. 
Character  of  its  clergy,  38. 
Dissenters  from  in  the  majority,  38. 
Its    overthrow  as    the    established 

Church,  39,  174. 
Resisted  by  Pendleton  and  Nicholas, 

39. 
EUROPE — Political  condition  of,  346,  353, 

355,  358,  365,  366,  400,  435,  442, 

453,  509,  559,  605. 
Relations     between     Emperor    and 

Dutch,  346,  353,  355,  358,  365,  400, 

405,  412. 
Relations   between  Austria,  Russia 

and  Turkey,  400. 
Mr.  Jefferson's  views  of  Europe,  444. 

FRANCE — Influence  of  American  Revolu- 
tion on,  69. 

Financial  embarrassments  of,  69. 

Assembly  of  Notables  convened,  70 

They  refuse  to  vote  supplies,  70. 

Constitutional  reforms,  71. 

Abuses  »f  old  government,  86. 

Assembling  of  States  General,  87. 

Progress  of  the  Revolution,  87. 

Constitution  of  States  General.  87. 

Character  of  King  and  Queen,  88, 
101. 

Severity  of  winter  of  1788-9,  88. 

Importation  of  bread-stuffs  from 
America,  89. 

Riots,  89,  97. 

Opening  of  States  General,  90. 

Early  debates  and  difficulties  in  or- 
ganizing, 91. 

Tiers  Etat  constitute  themselves  the 
National  Assembly,  92. 

Conduct  and  policy  of  Court  party, 
92. 

Royal  session,  94.  Popular  demon- 
strations, 94. 

Disaffection  of  soldiery,  95. 

Part  of  Nobles  and  Clergy  join  Tiers 
Etats,  95. 

New  Constitution  for  France,  96, 103. 

Military  interference  by  Govern- 
ment, 96. 

Mr.  Neckar  expelled  from  ministry, 
96. 

The  new  Court  Ministry,  97.  Bas- 
tile  taken,  98. 

Resignation  of  Court  Ministry  and 
recall  of  Mr.  Neckar,  100. 

Flight  of  aristocracy  begins,  100. 

Views  on  the  execution  of  King  and 
Queen,  101. 

The  Neckar  Ministry,  102. 


612 


INDEX    TO    VOL.  I. 


FRANCE — Great  reforms  of  National  As- 
sembly, 108. 

Divisions  spring  up  in  popular  party, 
103. 

Friendly  relations  between  France 
and  U.  S.,  456. 

Relations  between  France  and  Eng- 
land, 381. 

England  and  France  compared,  549. 

Mr.  Jefferson's  views  of  French  peo- 
ple, 187,  395,  549. 

Commercial  relations  with  TJ.  S.  378, 
386,  491,  499,  561,  567,  586,  589. 
FRANKLIN,  BENJ. — His  views  on  Articles 
of  Confederation,  31. 

Visits  to  from  Jefferson,  108. 

GATES,  GEN. — His  disasters  in  the  South, 

241,  249. 

Supplies  for  from  Virginia,  243,  244, 
245,  246,  247,  248,  249,  250,  251, 
252,  253,  254,  256.  260,  262,  263, 
273,  274,  285,  288,  302,  304. 
Consolations  of  Jefferson  on  his  fail- 
ures, 314. 

GEOLOGY — 516, 

GREENE,  GEN. — His  military  movements 
in  South,  291,  294,  296,  298,299, 
300,  302,  303,  309. 


HAMILTON,  GEN.— His  detention  as  prisoner 
of  war,  231,  232,  233,  237,  258,  267. 

HENRY,   PATRICK — His    connection  with 

Revolution,  116. 
His  eloquence,  4. 

HISTORY,  NATURAL — Objects  of,  500.  The 
grouse,  pheasant,  elk,  «fec.,  506,  507, 
519. 

The  big  bones  of  the  West.  323. 
Whether  animals  degenerate  in  Ame- 
rica, 340. 

HONFLEUR,  CITY  OF — Relative  to  making 
it  a  free  port,  579. 

HOPKINSON,  MR.— His  views  on  Articles  of 
Confederation,  34. 

HOUDON — His  Statue  of  Washington,  513, 
533. 

HUMPHREYS,  COL. — Testimonial  of  his 
character,  538,  568,. 

INDEPENDENCE,  DECLARATION  OF — First 
moved  in  Continental  Congress  by 
the  Delegates  from  Va.,  in  obedi- 
ence to  instructions,  12. 

Debates  on  that  motion,  12,  13,  14, 
15,  16,17. 

Action  of  Congress  thereon,  17,  18. 

Committee  appointed  to  prepare  De- 
claration, 17,  18. 


INDEPENDENCE,  DECLARATION  OP — Report 
of  Committee,  19. 

Copy  of  rough  draught  of  Declara- 
tion, 19,  20,  (fee. 

Facsimile  of  rough  draught  of  Decla- 
ration, 26. 

History  of  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing the  Declaration,  118. 

Separation  from  mother  country  ne- 
cessary and  inevitable,  207, 
INDIANS — Expeditions  of  Clarke  and  Shel- 
by against,  221. 

Expedition  by  Clarke,  239,  259,  281, 
282,  295. 

England   incites   them   against  our 

people,  604. 
IRELAND— Commerce  with  U.  S.,  478. 

JEFFERSON.  THOMAS — His  Family,!, 2.  His 
birth,  2.     His  early  education,  2. 

Elected  to  Virginia  Legislature,  3. 

Endeavors  to  have  slavery  abolished 
in  Va.,  3. 

His  marriage,  4. 

Student  at  William  and  Mary  Col- 
lege, 4. 

Resolutions   against   Stamp  Act,  4. 

Proceedings  thereon  in  Va.  4. 

Appointed  member  of  Continental 
Congress,  10. 

Elected  to  Va.  Legislature  after  sep- 
aration from  England,  36. 

Brings  in  bill  for  establishing  courts 
of  justice,  36. 

Also  declaring  that  tenants  entail 
shall  hold  their  lands  in  fee,  36. 

Appointed  member  of  committee  to 
revise  laws  of  Va.,  42. 

Overthrow  of  landed  aristocracy  of 
Va.,  49. 

Elected  Governor  of  Va.,  50,  216. 

His  resignation  in  favor  of  Gen.  Nel- 
son, 50. 

Appointed  Commissioner  to  France, 
50. 

Declines  in  favor  of  Dr.  Lee,  51. 

Appointed  minister  plenipotentiary 
to  negotiate  peace,  51. 

Declines  at  first,  but  accepts  after- 
wards, 51,  313,  321.  Prepares  to 
sail,  322,  324,  326.  His  detentions, 
327,332. 

Treaty  of  peace  being  concluded  be- 
fore he  sails,  he  resigns  and  re 
turns  home,  52,  329,  330,  331. 

Appointed  delegate  to  Congress,  52. 

Executive  powers  of  Confederation 
to  lodge  in  committee,  54. 

Committee  split  into  factions,  54. 


INDEX  TO   VOL.  I. 


613 


t  r««7ERSoN,  THOMAS — Appointed  minister 
plenipotentiary  to  negotiate  trea- 
ties with  foreign  nations,  60.  Sails 
for  Europe,  60. 

Appointed  minister  to  France,  63. 

Subjects  of  negotiation  with  France, 
64. 

Visit  to  South  of  France,  72. 

Dislocated  wrist,  72. 

Takes  management  of  European  debt 
of  U.  S.,  83. 

Visit  to  Holland  and  journey  along 
Rhine,  85. 

Refuses  to  aid  in  framing  Constitu- 
tion for  France,  103. 

Consultation  at  his  bouse  in  Paris 
among  the  leaders  of  liberal  party 
of  France,  104. 

His  views  of  French  revolution,  106. 

His  views  of  the  French  people,  107. 

His  return  to  V.  S.,  107. 

Appointed  Sec'y  of  State,  108,  176. 

Visits  Franklin,  108. 


A  summary  of  his  publi  ^ 

Love  affair  in  Williamsburg,  181,  186, 

188,  190. 
Relative  to  his  residence  in  Williams- 

hurg  j_JHend.s   and   things  there, 

184,  193,  194. 
Loss  of  his  library  and  papers  by 

fire,  193. 

His  opinion  of  Ossian,  196. 
Member  of  the  association  against 

importing  goods  fro-CQ,  England,  197. 
His  love  of  music,(2Q9? 
His  views  of  Europe,  444. 
His  salary  as  minister  insufficient,452. 
JUDICIARY — Jefferson's  views  on,  81. 

Expediency  of  introducing  jury  trial 

in  chancery  courts,  37, 49,  50. 

KENTUCKY,  STATE  OF — Danger  of  her  se- 
cession, 518. 

LA  FAYETTE — Presentation  of  bust  of,  by 
Virginia  to  City  of  Paris,  403,  514. 
Grant  of  land  to,  533. 
LAMBE,  MR. — His  mission  to  Algiers,  376, 

581. 
Embarrassments  resulting  from  his 

delay,  376,  385. 

Remanded  to  America  to  give  infor- 
mation in  reference  to  his  mission, 
581. 

His  conduct  equivocal,  605. 
LAND — Colonial  tenure  of,  138. 

C — Best  disposition  to  be 
made  of,  347.  Ordinance  in  rela- 
tion to,  407. 


LANDS — Purchase  of  by  Congress,  423. 
Land  office,  423,  430.    Sale  of,  430. 

LAW,  INTERNATIONAL — Proposition  to  in- 
troduce new  principle  in,  62. 
Free  ships  free  goods,  enemy's  ships 
enemy  s  goods,  62. 

LAWS  OF  VIRGINIA — Revision  thereof,  42, 
45. 

LEDYARD,  JOHN — Expedition  to  explore 
western  part  of  American  Conti- 
nent, 68. 
Defeated  by  Empress  of  Russia,  68. 

LESLIE,  MAJ.  GEN. — Letter  from  to  Corn- 
wallis  intercepted,  271. 

LEXINGTON,  BATTLE  OF — Account  of  killed 
.  and  wounded,  207. 

LOANS — European  loans  to  U.  S.,  210. 

Louis  XVI.— His  Character,  88, 101. 

LUZERNE,  CHEVALIER  DE — His  appoint- 
ment as  minister  to  U.  S.,  850. 

MADISON  JAMES — His  character  and  early 
history,  41. 

MAP — Map  of  Virginia,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Maryland,  536. 

MARIA  ANTOINETTE — Her  character,  88, 
101. 

MASON,  GEORGE — His  character,  41. 

MATHEWS,  COL.— Prisoner  of  war,  231, 232, 
233. 

MONROE,  COL.  JAMES — His  character,  555. 
His  marriage,  590. 

MOROCCO — (See  Barbary  States). 

MUSKETS — Improvement  in  the  manufac- 
ture of,  412,  514. 

Music — New  musical  instrument,  504. 

NETHERLANDS — Insurrection  against  Stadt- 

holder,  73. 

France  promises  assistance,  73.    Dif- 
ficulties compromised,  77. 

NOTABLES,   ASSEMBLY  OF — Notables  con- 
vened, 70.    They  refuse  to  vote 
supplies,  70. 
Make  reforms  in  constitution,  71. 

NOVA  SCOTIA — Relations  of  with  U.  S. 
488. 

OFFICE — Question  whether  a  citizen  has 
right  to  decline  office,  420. 

OGLETHORPE,  GEN. — His  claim  to  certain 
lands  in  Georgia,  499,  500,  501. 

OSSIAN — Jefferson's  opinions  of  Ossiau's- 
poems,  199. 

OTTO  M.— His  mission  to  U.  S.,  346. 

PEACE — Ratification  of  at  Annapolis,  55, 

56.     Debate  thereon,  56,  59. 
PENDLETON,  EDMUND — His  character,  37 


614 


INDEX   TO   YOL.  I. 


PENDLETON,  EDMUND — Opposed  to  aboli- 
tion of  entails,  37. 

Also  to  abolition  of  church  establish- 
ment in  Va.,  39. 

PENITENTIARY — Model  for  Virginia  peni- 
tentiary, 46. 

Question  as  to  solitary  confinement, 
46,  47. 

PENNSYLVANIA — Boundary  between  and 
Virginia,  399. 

PEYROUSE  M. — His  expedition,  454,  602. 

PHILLIPS,  GEN. — Point  of  etiquette  be- 
tween him  and  Jefferson,  308. 

PLATINA— Its  Uses,  505. 

PORTUGAL — Treaty  of  commerce  with  de- 
feated, 64.  Proposed  again,  406, 
458.  460.  492,  539,  543,  551. 

POST  OFFICE — Postal    arrangements  be- 
tween France  and  the  TJ.  S,  410. 
Rascalities  of  French   and   English 
po-t  offices,  442. 

POSTS,  WESTERN — Refusal  of  England  to 
surrender  them,  450. 

PRIMOGENITURE — Its  abolition  in  Va.,  43, 
39,  138. 

PRISONERS  OF  WAR — The  Saratoga  prison- 
ers, 202,  268,  276. 
Case  of  Col.  Hamilton,  231,  232,  233, 

237,  258,  267. 

Case  of  Col.  Mathews,  231,  232,  233. 
Jefferson's     attention    to    Saratoga 
prisoners,  278. 

PRIZES — Claim  against  Denmark  for  prize 

money,  461,  522. 
Against  France,  364,  374,  392. 

PRUSSIA — Commercial  negotiations  with, 

355,  368,  372,  382,  416,  469. 
Bad  health  of  King  of,  586.     His 
death  and  the  effects  of  in  Europe, 
586. 

RELIGION — Bill  establishing  religious  free- 
dom, 45. 

REVOLUTION,  AMERICAN — Its  early  stages. 
8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17, 
18,  19,  20. 

Association   against   importing   for- 
eign goods,  197. 

\    Outbreak  at  Boston.  199,  202. 
>J  Tone  of  Colonies,  201,  203,  204. 
Expedition  against  Canada,  202,  206. 
Military  movement  in  Va.,  207. 
Progress  of  the  war,  fcll.     History 

of,  535. 

Disasters  in  South,  241,  249. 
False  accounts  of  the  war  propaga- 
ted in  Europe,  207. 

RICHMOND,  CITY  OF — Removal  of  govern- 
ment from  Williamsburg  to,  40. 


RIEDESEL,  GEN.  DE — His  imprisonment  in 
Albermarle,  240. 

RUSSIA — Relations  between  Russia,  Aus- 
tria and  Turkey,  400. 

SCIENCE — Discoveries  in.  364,  446,  516. 
Scientific  news  of  Europe,  364. 

SHORT,  MR. — Appointed  Jefferson's  pri- 
vate Secretary,  407,  411. 

SLAVERY — Effort  to  abolish  arrested  by 

royal  veto,  3. 

Views  of  different  sections  of  U.  S. 
on,  377. 

SLAVES — Their  first  importation  into  Va., 
38.  First  law  prohibiting  their  im- 
portation, 38.  Bill  relative  to,  48. 
Prospective  emancipation  propos- 
ed, but  defeated,  49.  King's  veto  to 
bill  abolishing,  1 35. 

STEAM — Its  application  to  mills,  543.  To 
navigation,  543. 

TERRITORY,  NORTH-WESTERN — Right  sf 
Va.  to  controverted,  315. 

TIMBER — American  ship  timber,  488. 

TOBACCO — Shipments  of  to  England,  488. 
Trade  in  with  France,  343,  362,  515, 
547,  561,  563,  577,  600. 

TREASURY — State  of  our  finances  in  Eu- 
rope. 450. 

TROOPS — Virginia  troops  in  Continental 

service,  235. 
Continental  troops,  235. 

TURKEY — Relations  between  Turkey,  Aus- 
tria and  Russia,  400. 

UNITED  STATES — Imperfections  of  Arti- 
cles of  Confederation.  78. 

They  require  remodelling,  78. 

Views  of  U.  S.  prevalent  in  Europe, 
407,  413. 

Account  of  public   affairs   in  1785, 
423. 

English  calumnies  against,  427. 

Bad  reputation  of  in  Europe,  513. 

Extravagance  of  people  of.  550. 

Summary  of  news  from  at  different 

times,  349. 

UNIVERSITIES — Relative  merits  of  Uni- 
versities of  Rome  and  Geneva, 
466. 

VERGENNES,  CT.  DE — Conference  with,  576, 
VIRGINIA — Abolition  of  entails,  37,  138. 

Primogeniture,  39,  43,  1 38. 

Church  establishment,  38,  39,  174. 

Revision  of  her  code,  43,  45,  146. 

History  of  by  Girardin,  50. 

The  lawyers  of  Va.,  217. 


INDEX  TO  VOL.  I. 


615 


VIRGINIA — Right  of  Va.  to  Western  ter- 
ritory controverted,  315. 

Boundary  between  Va.  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, 399. 

Her  militia  in  Southern  army,  266. 
249,  250,  256,  285. 

Her  supplies  for  Southern  army,  243, 
244,  245,  246,  247,  248,  249,  250, 
251,  252,  253,  254,  256,  260,  262, 
263,  273,  274,  285,  288,  302,  304. 

Model  of  capitol  of  Va.,  432,  434,  578. 

Notes  of  Va.,  6,  297,  340,  464,  528, 
531,  536. 

Supplies  of  arms  from  France,  570, 
600. 

Invasion  of  Va.,  265,  266,  267,  269, 
270,  271,  273,  274,  275,  278,  282, 
284,  288,  390,  291,  304,  306. 


WASHINGTON,  GEORGE — Expression  of  Mr. 

Jefferson's  esteem  for,  326. 

Statue  of  by  Houdon,  513,  533. 

WESTERN     COUNTRY — Division    of    into 

States,  587. 
WILLIAM  AND  MARY  COLLEGE — Character 

of,  48.   Change  in  its  organization, 

50. 
WILLIAMSBURG — Removal  of  government 

from  to  Richmond,  40. 
WILSON,  MR. — His  views  on  Articles  of 

Confederation,  35. 

WYTHE,  GEORGE — His  character,  41. 
His  biography,  111. 

YORKTOWN,  BATTLE  OF — Congratulations 
of  Jefferson  to  Washington  on  that 
battle,  314. 


V 


8743 


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